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Bollers-on-Bollers: Breaking down Wisconsin signee T.J. Bollers

Baseball was T.J. Bollers's first love, according to his father, Trevor.

"We always thought that if he was going to go and do anything, it was gonna be in baseball," Trevor told BadgerBlitz.com earlier this week.

Just two days ago, however, T.J. -- the No. 103 prospect in the nation for the 2021 class -- made his decision official to play inside Camp Randall Stadium for Wisconsin's football program.

That "first love" on the diamond increased T.J.'s skillset on the football field, according to Trevor. The former Iowa fullback, who played for head coach Hayden Fry from the mid-to-late 1990s, also pointed to the basketball court for his son's acquired explosiveness in facing peers that were taller than him, along with a couple other traits.

Four-star OLB T.J. Bollers signed with Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Four-star OLB T.J. Bollers signed with Wisconsin on Wednesday. (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

"T.J.’s got basketball player catching hands and touch with the ball," Trevor said. "He's got baseball player eyesight and ball tracking, and then acceleration because he played in the outfield as well as catcher. He used all of those skills to track the ball, accelerate and track people. In baseball, it’s not like you slowly run anywhere. It's always a full sprint whenever you’ve got to run. Then the lateral movements and all."

Now T.J. Bollers will take his talents to Madison an enroll early for the Badgers. On Wisconsin's National Signing Day page, the program listed the Iowa native at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard boasted about Bollers's versatility and noted that the Badgers "see him as an outside linebacker kind of plus."

"We think he can do a little bit more than that position and provide some flexibility for us," Leonhard told reporters via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon. "Great physicality with what he has shown in high school, and as he grows into his body, it's gonna be a lot of fun to put him in different positions."

Trevor expects T.J. to develop further physically and transform at Wisconsin, but he is intrigued by how his son will grow in the knowledge of the game.

“Mental-wise is the thing that I'm looking for, that I'm interested in seeing when we have conversations about football plays, technique. I'm gonna be picking his brain," Trevor Bollers said.

RELATED: "Rucci-on-Rucci" Breaking down Wisconsin commit Nolan Rucci; "Chaney-on-Chaney:" Breaking down Wisconsin commit Jake Chaney

In a new BadgerBlitz.com series during this 2021 early signing period, we introduce "Bollers-on-Bollers"-- a Q&A with Trevor talking about T.J.'s development, his recruiting process that led him to Wisconsin and more.

The interview has been edited between two sessions with Trevor Bollers in the past week on Dec. 13 and 17. [Writer's note: Big thanks to Trevor for making the time twice as BadgerBlitz.com dealt with some technical issues on the audio recordings.]

As a former college football player, when did you first realize that T.J. could not only be a Division 1 athlete, but also garner the Power Five offers he achieved.

“Honestly, we didn't know what was going to happen. We had no expectations. Our goal was just to give him the best opportunity that we could and keep him active. As far as staying busy with things to do so that young minds don't get idle. We played high-level sports, and we played competitive basketball and put him in lots of different competitive things like AAU basketball with the Iowa Barnstormers. Traveled to places like Las Vegas and stuff like that. We’d go to Florida and play in baseball tournaments for all-stars.

"T.J.’s first love was baseball. We always thought that if he was going to go and do anything, it was gonna be in baseball.”

What strides did you see TJ make just on the football field over the course of his high school career then?

“I think the biggest thing that we saw, to be honest with you, was the strides made from junior high in high school. He went from being this really good youth player to being aggressive, and he accepted his blocking role and he finished his block. He accepted his defensive roles and finished his tackles and stuff. It was just a very different thing from junior high. All of a sudden he’s in high school, and he’s taking on guys that are four years older than him and competing with them.”

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