Rush End TJ Bollers Is Leaning Toward Wisconsin Or Iowa State Ahead Of Nebraska, Analyst Says
If the Nebraska Cornhuskers are going to win over T.J. Bollers, they’ve got some work to do. That’s according to recruiting analyst Josh Hemholdt of Rivals, who recently put together a list of schools that are going after the rush end and rated their chances. Currently, he believes the Huskers are coming in behind both Iowa State and Wisconsin when it comes to their odds of landing the four-star prospect.
Bollers announced his final seven teams earlier this month and Nebraska was among his preferred destinations, along with Alabama, California, Iowa State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. While Bollers said there wasn’t one team that he was leaning over the others at the time, Hemholdt has talked to the defender more than once and believes he understands what the player is looking for in the school he’s going to play for in the coming years.
While the analyst suggested that the Cornhuskers have made some inroads, they apparently haven’t done quite enough to get past the Cyclones or the Badgers.
“Since he first visited Madison for a camp last summer, Bollers has had a strong affinity for the Badgers’ program. When Bollers talks about academics being a strong factor in his decision, he is not paying lip service. He lists his GPA (3.9) in his Twitter bio and plans to major in Engineering.”
Hemholdt points out Wisconsin has a top engineering program in the country, making them particularly appealing to Bollers.
When talking about relationships, Hemholdt speculated that Iowa State holds the edge there. Head coach Matt Campbell has been recruiting the defender hard, as Bollers is one of the Cyclones’ top prospects in the 2021 class — if not the No. 1 target.
ISU also has a very good engineering program, which is why it’s right up there with Wisconsin as one of the top teams to beat. Nebraska, on the other hand, only really checks one of the boxes thought to be important to Bollers. The coaching staff for the Cornhuskers has certainly made an impression on him, as he’s made numerous visits to Lincoln and they were one of his first four scholarship offers.
The engineering program at Nebraska doesn’t measure up to the other two schools thought to be at the top of his list. For another prospect, that might not carry the day, but Bollers, as a student-athlete, puts emphasis on being a student. As reported, he wants to go to a school that will offer him a chance to play major college football while also getting a degree in his chosen field.
