Boulware turning heads at Under Armour All-American practices

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jan 03 15:18:28 GMT-04:00 2013

Clemson commit Ben Boulware Ben Boulware
Outside Linebacker
6-1, 230
Anderson, SC
View Full Profile is turning heads and having fun at the Under Armour All-America Game this week.

The 2013 linebacker prospect out of Anderson (SC) T.L. Hanna has been drawing accolades from coaches at the event like former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington, who played in the NFL from 2000-2006 and is a coach this week.

One coach at the event has compared Boulware to former NFL linebacker Zach Thomas, while Arrington is telling people that Boulware has nearly perfect tackling form.

Boulware told TigerNet Wednesday evening that he takes the compliments as a sign he has done the right things to prepare for this stage of his life.

"To hear things like that is pretty cool,” Boulware said. “I have worked my butt off to get to this point, and to have guys that played in the league say that about me about is pretty good. It just shows that all of the hard work I have put in has paid off.”

Boulware said playing in the Under Armour game down in Florida has been fun, especially considering he doesn’t have to worry about everyone else on the field.

“This is a lot of fun. In high school, you have to worry about doing a lot of different stuff and you’re always watching out for other guys. But everybody here is good and you just have to know your job and focus on that. Just trust the other players to do their jobs. It is really just running around and making plays.”

He is also enjoying the “swag” that comes along with participating in the event.

“They are treating us like kings,” he said. “It is crazy. When we first got here, we got two big gift bags. I got two pairs of shoes, three pairs of cleats and lots of other stuff. We just got back from taking a tour of EA Sports, and they were showing us how they make video games. It was a lot of fun.”

Despite being close to several uncommitted prospects – some that Clemson is still recruiting – he said isn’t really getting a chance to throw in a recruiting pitch of his own.

“Not really. There are a lot of media guys around, a lot of recruiting guys, and they are all hanging around and asking questions and wanting to talk about it,” he said. “When they get free time, they don’t want to really talk about it.”

Boulware said he got to watch the second half of Clemson’s thrilling 25-24 win over LSU Monday night, and he liked what he saw out of Clemson’s defense.

“I was pretty surprised that we played as physical as we did,” he said. “That proved a lot of doubters wrong. Everybody thinks the ACC is weak, and they beat one of the best SEC teams and that just proved a lot of people wrong. I was excited to see that. I wish I was an early enrollee, and I am mad I can’t get to Clemson sooner. I can’t wait to get on campus and play for Clemson. I am really excited about that.”