Notre Dame Offer Shakes Things Up For Rivals100 Pass Rusher
Notre Dame dished out its first class of 2021 defensive end offer in a few months, as Fighting Irish position coach Mike Elston extended the good news to Tiffin (Iowa) Clear Creek Amana’s T.J. Bollers.
“I got the call Tuesday, and he told me that he said to Coach [Brian] Kelly, ‘I want to offer TJ Bollers,’ and Coach Kelly said, ‘Go right ahead.’ Coach Elston told me he was going to offer me a scholarship,” Bollers said.
Bollers’ response to Elston: “Geeze, thank you so much. I’ve been waiting for this.”
The 6-3, 240-pound four-star prospect camped at Notre Dame during the summer of 2018, which was just prior to his junior season, and again that fall for the Irish’s triumph versus Stanford.
“It was really great to know that I was still on their radar after all these years,” Bollers added.
Notre Dame had a coach stop by Bollers’ high school in January, but other than that, there was very little contact this year between the two parties. He did receive some mail throughout the spring but that was it. Notre Dame had wrapped things up with defensive line recruiting but are now looking at new options.
Last Saturday, Elston reached out to Bollers, and the offer conversation occurred on Tuesday.
“Notre Dame has always been a solid program — year in and year out,” Bollers said. “They’re always playing really great teams and show out against those guys. I really like their defense and how Coach Elston prepares the D-line.
“It’s always one of my favorite defensive groups to watch. I’m excited about that offer.”
It is clear that Bollers has interest in Notre Dame, but the Rivals100 prospect is already far along in his recruiting process. He started landing scholarship offers around two years ago and, on April 7, Bollers announced a top six schools group of Alabama, California, Iowa State, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
During the offer conversation, Elston acknowledged that Bollers had a group of finalists and asked if he’d still consider Notre Dame.
“I said, ‘Coach, I don’t know what I don’t know about you guys. I was there when I was a sophomore and that was about it. The stuff that you can show me will all be new to me. Who knows? I want to make an educated decision and not cut out a place without me knowing,’” Bollers recalled.
Bollers admits that his timeline “may have shifted just a tad” with Notre Dame joining the mix.
“I was shooting for early to mid-June, but with this new offer, I might take some more time to make sure I’m making the correct decision,” Bollers said.
Rivals ranks Bollers as the No. 2 player in Iowa, and the nation’s No. 6 strong-side defensive end and No. 98 overall prospect.
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