Four-Star In-State Standout T.J. Bollers Getting Down to Nitty Gritty

My understanding is Bollers really wants to play LB in a 3-4, which is why he is high on Wisky and Nebby. Will be interesting if he picks Alabama because they run the same base 4-3 as we do.
 
My understanding is Bollers really wants to play LB in a 3-4, which is why he is high on Wisky and Nebby. Will be interesting if he picks Alabama because they run the same base 4-3 as we do.
I hate to acknowledge this but going to Wisconsin because they play a 3-4 makes sense. Going to Nebraska for that reason makes no sense. He’d do better learning to play defense under Parker than any system at Nebraska.
 
I hate to acknowledge this but going to Wisconsin because they play a 3-4 makes sense. Going to Nebraska for that reason makes no sense. He’d do better learning to play defense under Parker than any system at Nebraska.

I agree, but kids will be kids. I still can’t understand how Nebby pulls in Top 25 classes with as shitty as they’ve been the last 5 years...
 
He says in the story that's linked the OP that he's intrigued my playing in a 3-4 but that won't be the deciding factor.
 
He says in the story that's linked the OP that he's intrigued my playing in a 3-4 but that won't be the deciding factor.
Pat Harty Tyler Devine said Bollers called out Iowa coaches for ignoring him and not coming to his basketball games when they said they would. Mentioned other coaches showed up.

If that's the case and he did say that, I'd think Iowa would walk away. Eno Benjamin was a totally different situation, but I don't see Ferentz getting cozy with a kid who will air dirty laundry in public. Probably weren't going to land him anyway, who knows.

https://allhawkeyes.com/pages/story/details/3474

From the article:

“Really it depends on them,” Bollers said. “Coach Ferentz was at my practice a little bit ago but other than that I’ve had no contact with them. No invites to junior days. Nothing.”



“There are other places that are putting in effort to come see me and make it to my basketball games instead of saying they would and never coming,” Bollers said.
 
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Pat Hardy said Bollers called out Iowa coaches for ignoring him and not coming to his basketball games when they said they would. Mentioned other coaches from Alabama showed up.

If that's the case and he did say that, I'd think Iowa would walk away. Eno Benjamin was a totally different situation, but I don't see Ferentz getting cozy with a kid who will air dirty laundry in public. Probably weren't going to land the kid anyway, who knows.

The coaches, including KF, did an in-home visit back in mid-January. Things have cooled since then which leads me to believe that the coaches were probably told that Iowa wasn't currently in the Top 5, so they've moved on to other prospects.
 
I get the sense he's trying to shield himself from any twitter backlash for not going to Iowa by pinning the blame on Iowa coaches when he ultimately opts for a school like Nebraska (what a mistake that would be) or Wisconsin. He's obviously a better 3-4 fit and that's not Iowa.
 
I don't think it's obvious that he's a better 3-4 fit and I've seen him play live each of the last three years. I actually think he would be a mean DT in a 4-3 with some physical development.
 
The coaches, including KF, did an in-home visit back in mid-January. Things have cooled since then which leads me to believe that the coaches were probably told that Iowa wasn't currently in the Top 5, so they've moved on to other prospects.

This did not happen and I'm not sure where you got that info. There has been no in-home visit with TJ and his family.
 
As KF always says, "Are we dating, or are we holding hands?"

The Bollers' camp (his dad and his strength coach, former Hawkeye coach and shameless self-promoter JC Moreau) has made it clear from the start that the goal is to become a "national recruit." If you want to do that, part of the playbook is being seen holding hands with as many pretty girls as possible, that gets the other pretty girls more interested.

There is nothing more TJ Bollers can learn about Iowa that he does not already know. If he is not interested yet, then he is just using Iowa as another pretty girl, and I don't blame Iowa if they are not interested in playing along.
 
I disagree. TJ Bollers can learn more about the coaches and get to know them better if they were willing. Reese Morgan built a strong bond with TJ and when he left, Iowa and Kelvin Bell did not really pick up the ball.

If they're put off by the way TJB and his family are handling recruiting, that's fine. Maybe the Iowa coach don't see him as a good fit. And that's fine.

But to say, hey, we've shown you what we have, take it or leave it, is not a sound recruiting approach if it's someone that's obviously coveted by other top programs and you are interested in having in your program. Again, if Iowa doesn't want him, that's fine. But it's a two-way street.
 
I disagree. TJ Bollers can learn more about the coaches and get to know them better if they were willing. Reese Morgan built a strong bond with TJ and when he left, Iowa and Kelvin Bell did not really pick up the ball.

If they're put off by the way TJB and his family are handling recruiting, that's fine. Maybe the Iowa coach don't see him as a good fit. And that's fine.

But to say, hey, we've shown you what we have, take it or leave it, is not a sound recruiting approach if it's someone that's obviously coveted by other top programs and you are interested in having in your program. Again, if Iowa doesn't want him, that's fine. But it's a two-way street.

How many games has he attended? How many times has he heard their pitch?

I agree that if they think he is an absolute must-get, you plug your nose and play the game. But they must either be getting signals that he is not sincere in his interest, or they think they have options that are equally as good but are more likely gets. It seems like they have earned the benefit of the doubt in their recruiting decision-making.
 
Either way, whether it's Iowa or Bollers that has cooled off on the recruitment (if at all), I'd rather he picked somewhere else other than here.

If you're going to go out in the media and air your frustrations with coaches you don't fit here. Iowa's defense will be just fine.
 
How many games has he attended? How many times has he heard their pitch?

I agree that if they think he is an absolute must-get, you plug your nose and play the game. But they must either be getting signals that he is not sincere in his interest, or they think they have options that are equally as good but are more likely gets. It seems like they have earned the benefit of the doubt in their recruiting decision-making.
Do you really think Ferentz would even entertain the kid now that he's bitched about them to the media?

This is a moot discussion in my opinion.
 
I think he went to one game last season.

Reese Morgan retiring changed the dynamic here and the flow of this recruitment. It happens.

These things aren't black and white. There's a not of nuance in recruiting.

The narrative that TJ and his family are 100 percent responsible for this thing not working out will prevail here. It's an Iowa board. Again, there are two sides to the story.
 
I think he went to one game last season.

Reese Morgan retiring changed the dynamic here and the flow of this recruitment. It happens.

These things aren't black and white. There's a not of nuance in recruiting.

The narrative that TJ and his family are 100 percent responsible for this thing not working out will prevail here. It's an Iowa board. Again, there are two sides to the story.

TJ and his family are 100% responsible for where he decides to go to school. That is indisputable. If he decides not to go to Iowa, that is 100% their decision. And if they make that decision, it is 100% because they like the pitches that other schools are making over Iowa's pitch. And there is nothing wrong with that.

We know what Iowa's pitch is. We have heard it from every interview with a recruit after visiting. It's not resonating with this particular young man. That doesn't mean it's Bollers' fault, it doesn't mean it is Iowa's fault, it just means that perhaps this isn't a perfect fit.
 
I used to try to fight City Hall on here and other forms of social media. Not doing it anymore (at least that's the plan).
 

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