So if this young gentleman decides to attend Oregon, he will be given a nick-name (Probably by some guys who are too lazy to learn the proper enunciation of his surname)... Probably T-Bone, or something silly like that... If he chooses BSU, it will more likely be something intelligent like 'the Thong', by some witty low-brow.
If Ricky can play DT, I don't care what his name is, as long as he qualifies... The fact this kid only played 1 season of organized 'American-style' football sounds strangely like the Olshansky story, and Duck fans grew to love Igor soon enough.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 3478259458
He may need to learn lots of little things most kids pick up in Pop Warner, but he looks like he gets after the ball pretty well.
http://www.afbn.org/page.php?id=584
Dutch treat: Athletes move to Boise from overseas for shot at football glory
Humphrey Koopmans, Jeffrey Bediako, Ricky Tjong-A-Tgoe and Donald Alves Fortes, left to right, are all from Amsterdam in the Netherland and all play football for Boise High School this year.
"It's a dream for them to come over here and get the chance to earn a scholarship," said Dutchman Floris Mendonca, who brought 10 players to the Boise State football camp this summer after he joined Febis at the camp in 2005. "If they stayed in Amsterdam, (college coaches) wouldn't see them. The most important thing for them is to have the chance to go out and fight for a scholarship. You never know what's going to happen."
While Febis remained in Boise in 2005, Mendonca returned to the Netherlands and began coaching football.
"I went home after Cedric and I came here and met these kids," said Mendonca, now an assistant coach at Boise. "They wanted a chance to play overseas, over here, so I said, 'Yeah, OK, I will help you.' "
Capital coach Todd Simis and Boise coach Bob Clark said they met Mendonca at the BSU camp and heard rumors that some of the campers wanted to play high school football in Boise.
"The rest is history," Simis said. "We met them and they were interested in making it happen. Floris was really instrumental in bringing these kids over and helping them through everything."
The players, who are not exchange students, were required to obtain academic (F-1) visas, pay Boise School District tuition, meet eligibility requirements for the Idaho High School Activities Association and find host families before they arrived in mid-August.
Alves Fortes (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) leads the Braves with thee sacks and has eight tackles.
Tjong-A-Tjoe (6-3, 260) has 15 tackles, including a team-high seven for loss.
(Humphrey)Koopmans (5-10, 265) has 21 carries for 98 yards and three TDs.
(Jeffrey)Bediako (6-3, 210) has five receptions for 115 yards and one TD, and 14 tackles and a blocked kick.
(And that's in 3 games... This was posted on September 26th)
Over at Capital, (Geraldo)Hiwat (6-3, 190) has added an explosive element to the Eagles' offense. He has 18 receptions for 201 yards and two TDs through three games.
Simis said he's a bona fide Division I prospect.
Tjong-A-Tjoe played soccer, but his size became a liability. (As a former soccer coach myself, that explains the speed and agility... The conditioning these European soccer players go through just to make a team is unbelieveable.)
"I was always the biggest guy on the (soccer) team and the refs always called against me," Tjong-A-Toe said. "In football, you get beat around at first, but once you get to know the game, it's fun."
Capital running back Charlie McMartin, whose family is hosting Hiwat, is pleased all five players made the 5,000-mile trip to the Treasure Valley.
"It's fun," McMartin said. "Teenagers are universal. It doesn't matter where you're from. (Hiwat) is a good guy and his four friends are just as cool as he is. It's awesome."
Bring 'em on!
