Interview: Recruiting Interest for Iowa 2018 OG Sean Boles has Officially Taken Off

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Being big and tall will help anyone standout in a crowd, even on a football field. In addition to being massive, the spectator’s eye is always pulled to the action when a lineman clears out a section of the defense play after play, even if the pigskin is being thrown the other way or rushed off in a different direction. During the 2016 season, fans of high school football in the state of Iowa couldn’t help but watch Sean Boles in action down in the trenches.

Boles was a two-way player for Van Meter High School helping the Bulldogs to an 11-1 season in 2016 playing guard and defensive tackle. The Bulldogs made a three-game push into the playoffs before a tough loss to Western Christian, but the experience gained by Boles during his junior campaign proved invaluable. Not only did his improved play on the field catch the eye of the fans in the seats but also caught the attention of college scouts nationwide.

The spring evaluation period has been a busy time for Boles’ recruitment seeing his offer sheet expand to six with Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Yale, and Penn wanting his services at the next level. Interest continues to grow within the Ivy League schools with Harvard and Princeton keeping an eye on the now 6-6, 320 pound, talent, but also with teams in the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, ACC, and Big 12 like Stanford, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Missouri showing various levels of interest.

Boles has tried to make the best of any downtime during the spring taking as many unofficial visits as possible. Ahead of a two-campus visit planned over the weekend to Pennsylvania and Princeton, I sat down with one of the top players in Iowa’s 2018 class covering his off-season workouts and recruiting process to date.

Interview

Sean, how have your off-season workouts been going so far?

“They are going really well. We have someone working with us at Van Meter, he used to be assistant strength coach at Iowa State. He helps us a lot. We are doing workouts that correlate directly to the field – Olympic style training. We are not doing generic high school workouts. We lift three to four days a week and we have a cardio day. We are doing stuff I have never heard of and they keep switching it up every couple of weeks. We have a quality lifting program at our school.”

What areas of your game are you focused on improving before the start of your senior season?

“I’m fairly good in this area but I am working to improve my footwork. I’m also working on reading people properly, mitigating my mistakes, staying low, and coming out with good form on my first two steps. That is what I am working on at the moment. Getting to the second level, getting to the backers, that is something else I have been working on this off-season.”

What improvements have you made with your technique this spring?

“We have not done anything directly with drills but we have started preparing for camps over the last couple of weeks. My footwork has gotten better. Part of our workout is burst cardio training and lateral movement exercises – that has helped my footwork.

“I have also improved my ability to understand blocking schemes. As a result of me going out to so many schools seeing what they are doing with their offense, this has given me a worldly view seeing how different offenses function. That has helped me and will help me with the upcoming football season.”

Are there any players at the college or NFL levels that you watch to learn more about how to play your position?

“Not specifically. You cannot look at one player and say that is the best example for every type of lineman. My dad and I will watch different NFL and college players that are doing well – anyone on the offensive line. There is a lineman from Alabama (Cam Robinson), he just went to the NFL combine – I watch his stuff. He is really good at setting up his pass blocking.”

Have you maxed out in the weight room this off-season?

“No. But I have been doing really well with my bench press. I can rep out 225 pounds 10 times. I want to get that even higher by the time we start going to college camps.”

Have you attended any exposure camps this spring?

“No, not yet. I am going to an Under Armour and Rivals camp coming up.”

Which college camps might you attend coming up?

“I’m still kind of on the fence about which camps I may attend. With the Ivy League schools, I’m looking at attending a Harvard and Princeton camp. I may attend camps at Air Force, Vanderbilt, Iowa, and Iowa State. Nothing is set in stone at the moment. Stanford – I attend their camp every year. I know I will be doing that one.”

How many offers do you have now?

“I have six, all Ivy League schools. I have offers from Dartmouth, Yale, Penn, Brown, Cornell, and Columbia.”

Which schools are showing interest but have not offered?

“Air Force, Vanderbilt, Navy, Harvard, Princeton, Iowa, Missouri, and Iowa State. Stanford, Duke, and Rice are sending me some mail.”

Have you taken any unofficial visits this spring?

“I have been to Penn, Yale, and Minnesota.”

You alluded to this previously, what are some of the things that you have learned from your unofficial visits?

“Wow. That really is a lengthy answer. I’ll boil it down. You get a much better sense of the relationship a staff has with one another, the feel, and the dynamics of a program with a visit. You can tell how they feel about one another and how the school feels about the program. I feel unofficial visits are very important. You really can get the feel of the staff during a visit. That is a massive factor, and you learn about the school itself.”

Do you have any unofficial visits planned?

“I’m going to Penn tomorrow and then we are driving down to Princeton on Saturday. Next month I think I have Yale lined up and I’m considering going to Air Force as well. It is hard to set up visits. There are only so many weekends to do it. Two of my weekends are allocated to camps.”

What is your cumulative GPA?

“My unweighted is a 3.88 but every single class I am taking as an AP class. I took three AP classes last year and one my freshman year.”

Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet?

“I have not done those yet. I’m planning to do one in April or June. I’m aiming for a 30 or above. I took the practice exam this winter and got a 29. I have been studying for it since then.”

What are your off-season goals before starting your senior season?

“Nothing in terms of a quantitative goal but I want a higher bench max, a better broad jump, and I want to cut down my 40 a little bit. I want to be consistent with my footwork and reading so I can always win against a pass rush. I want correct hand placement on every snap. I am staying committed every week to doing what I need to do to get better. I am lifting three to four times a week.”

When asked by others, how would you best describe your skill set on the football field?

“As an offensive linemen I am used to clearing a gap because I am large and can get through when I need to. I am consistent with my play and my footwork. I do not make mental mistakes. As a senior I will have a bigger presence as a leader.”

Sean, thanks for your time today and good luck on your visits this weekend.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: recruitingnewsguru.com; Sean Boles.

Photo credit: Des Moines Register; No. 75 Sean Boles in action (2016).