Coach | 2021 Notre Dame DE/OLB Target TJ Bollers "Everything You'd Want"

It’s not just his talent that helps TJ Bollers‍ stand out on the football field, according to his coach, but it’s how the 2021 Iowa defensive end maximizes that talent that makes him a true standout.

“Obviously, he has all of the physical tools to be a pretty darn good college football player, but I think it’s his motor,” Clear Creek Amana head coach Gabe Bakker says. “He has a motor that never stops.

“Whether it’s on offense or defense or even some special teams, he goes from the first sound until the whistle and even through that whistle. I think his motor sets him apart from a lot of other players.”

Bakker isn’t taking any credit for that portion of Bollers’ game.

“I think he’s had that his whole career,” he says. “Even as a little kid, he had that. Now he’s starting to bring that out in other players around him. I’m really hopeful as a coach that his leadership takes kids to a different level.”

At 6-3 and 250 pounds, Bollers also has solid size, which he blends with speed and athleticism.

“He can move,” says Bakker. “He has pretty good feet. He was running 200s on the track last spring, so he still had some speed with him with the size he has. There aren’t many guys who have that speed and size on the high school level. It’s really taken him to a different level.”

Off the field, Bakker says Bollers is “everything you’d want from a football player and a high school student.”

“He’s almost a 4.0 (student),” the coach continues. “He’s in a bunch of leadership stuff. He’s in National Honor Society, student council. He’s turned into a leader on our team. He has a part-time job on the side and is a four-sport athlete. He’s everything you’d want.”

So, it’s no surprise he received several scholarship offers over the last couple years. Last month, he announced a top six of Alabama, Iowa State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Cal. He’s since reworked that list to a top five, which includes the Crimson Tide, the Cyclones, the Cornhuskers, the Badgers along with Penn State.

On Tuesday, Notre Dame joined the mix, extending an offer with the hopes of breaking into that top grouping.

“It is a little late in the game for him, but they have taken an open mind with everything,” Bakker says. “I do know they want to make the decision before the season starts, but they do want to make the right decision for him and the family, so they’ve been very open to everybody that’s offered him.

“I think anytime Notre Dame calls or does anything, you’re going to take notice and I know the Bollers family has.”

Bollers has visited South Bend in the past, so he does have a working knowledge of Notre Dame as a school and a program. He’s looking into doing a virtual visit with the Irish staff before deciding if they’ll be included among his favorites moving forward.

With the announcement that the dead period has been extended through the month of July, Bollers plans to stick to his original timeframe for a decision, which is sometime in the middle of June.