Bollers discusses recent Iowa visits
Clear Creek-Amana defensive end T.J. Bollers continues to add scholarship offers from a wide range of schools, but remains in no hurry to make a final decision. We caught up with the Class of 2021 prospect to discuss his two recent visits to Iowa City, what is next on his schedule, and much more.
Q: What were your two most recent visits at Iowa for?
BOLLERS: I went to a smaller junior day where it was guys around the area. We went to a basketball game. Recently, I was at a bigger junior day on the 3rd.
Q: How was the experience at the smaller junior day for the basketball game?
BOLLERS: It was really cool actually. Literally, I’m saying it was small with seven guys. It was a bunch of close guys like Josh Volk, Griffin Liddle, the newest commit Ethan Hurkett, Gavin Williams, and some of those guys. I workout with some of those guys and others like Gavin I hadn’t talked to. It was cool to connect there and get to know them more.
Q: How is it building those relationships with other recruits?
BOLLERS: It is actually really cool going through the process and meeting new dudes. There are some guys that will DM me on twitter and I’ll just connect with those guys. It is cool to see how their recruiting processes are going. It is good to connect with them when going on these recruiting visits.
Q: Did you learn much about Iowa during this trip?
BOLLERS: Not really. It was just a little get together. We didn’t do anything crazy. We didn’t go around and do any tours or anything. It was just be around the coaches and the guys.
Q: How was the Junior Day on Sunday?
BOLLERS: This past Sunday was also really good. Again, there were a bunch of guys that I hung out with who were just starting the recruiting process. It was super fun to be around them. There was like 50 guys or something. It was cool being around guys from a bunch of different states.
Q: Did you have a favorite part of that day?
BOLLERS: My favorite part was when we went into position meetings. We got to sit down with Coach Morgan and Coach Bell and were able to learn a little bit about how the DL works. It was really good to see.
Q: How do you feel about Coach Morgan retiring?
BOLLERS: Coach Morgan was actually the first guy that stepped by to see me to watch me practice. It is sad to see him leave. Every time I went to a game, he was the first to greet me and would always tell me he was so happy that I was there. He brought so much energy. You’d see him on the field trying his best to pump up guys and stay excited for the game. That really sucks because he was a great dude.
Q: What does your most recent offer from Virginia Tech mean to you?
BOLLERS: It was really big seeing that I’ve covered farther than just the Midwest. It was eye opening to me that they are watching. Their d-coordinator has been there forever, and they always have a solid defense. We are actually trying to schedule a visit out there.
Q: What other colleges are still recruiting you but have not offered at this point?
BOLLERS: The schools that haven’t offered would be Michigan State, Northwestern, UCLA, and Notre Dame too.
Q: Do you know what camps you’ll be doing this summer?
BOLLERS: Not yet. We have camps like the Opening and Rivals 3 Stripe that we’ll be attending.
Q: Are you getting any closer to a decision or are you remaining patient with recruiting?
BOLLERS: This is definitely something I am patiently going through. I’m not close to make a decision. I still have to see more of these schools and want to start seeing the academic side of Iowa, Iowa State, and Nebraska. I’ve been to each a couple times to see how the team works but want to see more about the academic center and how they help you graduate with a degree. That’ll be a big deal for me.
Currently, Bollers holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Virginia Tech.
See highlights from Bollers' sophomore year at Clear Creek-Amana in the video below.