Full Speed Ahead For Tommy Ziesmer
Boyle County Sophomore Has Already Received Six College Offers
Photo submitted.
Recent Division I scholarship offers have driven Tommy Ziesmer to work harder and perfect his skills.
Sam Warren
Herald Staff
sports@harrodsburgherald.com
There is a long history of great football players coming from Boyle County High School, and Tommy Ziesmer plans to be the next great Rebel. At six-feet, two inches and 220 pounds, Ziesmer is a freak athlete and full of potential.
As a freshman last season, Ziesmer started at defensive end for a Rebel defense that only allowed 10 points a game and recorded nine games in which the opponent scored seven or fewer points. Individually, Ziesmer contributed 45 tackles, 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and five sacks, three of those sacks happening in the playoffs. On the offensive side of the ball, Ziesmer plays as tight end.
Ziesmer is entering his sophomore season at Boyle County and is one of the best pass rushing options the Rebels have despite just being just 15 years old. He has spent his extended dead period working hard to improve and fine-tune his skills for this upcoming fall.
“A goal for the season is getting to the state championship, and winning. I plan personally to improve upon all of my skills. I want to improve on getting to the ball faster and getting out of my stance and being able to get into my move a little quicker,” said Ziesmer.
Expectations are always high at Boyle County, a program that has won eight state championships in football and has produced many NCAA Division I recruits. Ziesmer appreciates the high expectations of the Rebel program and uses it as fuel to push himself further.
“Being at such a good school for football has pushed me to go harder and be better, and I try to get better and better every day so that the next Rebels that come through Boyle county will know how hard you have to work to succeed. Like the Rebels before us, we just higher the bar every season, and pass it on to the next,” said Ziesmer.
Ziesmer said he lives by this quote: “every day you don’t work, someone else is getting better to surpass you.” His work ethic, athletic ability and potential have begun to impress high profile college coaches as well.
Ziesmer currently holds six offers from D-I schools including the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, the University of Tennessee, Western Kentucky University, West Virginia University and Eastern Kentucky University.
“I was very surprised to get my offers early but it has pushed me to do more to improve on everything like after practice Coach Smith (Chuck Smith) would help me and a few others with defensive moves to get past our opponents faster and more effectively,” said Ziesmer.
“I am very excited to have such a good football program at my high school, and I am excited to get to go to a good college,” he added.
Ziesmer earned all of these prestigious college scholarships at just 15 years of age, and they took him by surprise.
“All of them (scholarship offers) surprised me really because I didn’t think as a freshman I would have schools looking at me,” he said.
Ziesmer may be a young man in a hurry, but he’s in no rush to make a decision. “I’m not leaning towards any school yet, all of them have the same interest right now, you will know my final decision my junior or senior year,” he said.
