Hadley Bodell
Sports Writer
You’ve seen him on the field, the TV screen, or maybe even around the ISU campus, but few people know the full story behind Idaho State University’s new punter—Ross Bolger.
From across the world in Dublin, Ireland, Bolger is one of the recent additions to the ISU football team. His contributions as a punter have made this season one of the best for the Bengals. Here is the full story of the Punter from Ireland.
“I was always a fan of American football and college football, I used to watch it every weekend back home,” Bolger stated. He was a kicker for his teams of both rugby and Gaelic football (the national sport of Ireland) and played competitively in his home country. Even though Gaelic football wasn’t considered a professional sport, he described playing in stadiums filled with thousands of fans before ever coming to the US.
Then, last September, a coach in Ireland who kicked in the Canadian league began promoting kicking and punting for American football. Bolger was already interested in the sport and decided to give it a go. This coach ended up being the most inspiring and influential figure in Bolger’s life to get him where he is in his career today.
He joined a football team in Dublin and ended up playing only three games with them. However, just punting and kicking in real games definitely helped Bolger to know the small things about the rules of American football, as well as getting valuable footage to send to coaches in America. He and his coach posted video clips online of Bolger kicking, and they gained more attraction every week from recruiters in America.
Initially, Bolger flew out to play at Pace University in New York—a D2 college. Then, with more posts online, D1 colleges began reaching out to recruit him. The last year and a half have been a quote “whirlwind” for Bolger, as he and his coach spent last summer going to different kicking camps at schools like UCON and Boston, at both of which he won kicking competitions.
ISU was one of the schools who had reached out to Bolger, and after his visit here, he knew it was the place for him. “I really liked the vibe, I liked the coach and the idea of the new fresh start this season for them,” he explained. Coach Hawkins and Bolger are both new to the team this season, but while Bolger has no D1 coach to compare him to, he complimented Hawkins’ coaching style and ability to connect with the players.
Bolger moved to Pocatello in August of 2023, and stated it hadn’t really set in yet that he was living in the states. He said he had known for so long he’d be going somewhere, but it was hard to picture himself actually living in another country to play football. Bolger is from a smaller area of Ireland, so while there were some culture shocks moving to America, he said Pocatello is somewhat similar.
“It was easy to settle in with the team because everyone was so nice, and we bonded so well. Same with classes starting here and being around campus, so I settled in way better than I thought I would,” Bolger said.
Back home in Ireland, Bolger completed his undergraduate degree at Dublin City University in English and History and is now in graduate school at ISU studying communications.
Compared to playing in Ireland, the time commitment towards football here at ISU has been immensely larger for Bolger. Getting up so early in the morning, long practices, and meeting again in the evenings six days out of the week has been an adjustment for him. He explained the practices aren’t too strenuous as a punter, but they always have to be ready to perform.
While the commitment has been intense, Bolger said, “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It used to be your life first and then football, and here, football is your life, and I love it.”
A week in the life of Bolger may sound crazy to the average ISU student, but for him, it’s the perfect schedule. This includes waking up to an alarm set for 6:20am, heading to morning meetings and practicing from 7-around 10:30am. Before the practices, players have film analysis meetings and afterwards it’s off to class. Afternoons include gym sessions with the football team’s strength coach which can include 15-20 players from the team working out together.
Because Bolger is a graduate student, he then has classes again from around 5-8pm, which he said he doesn’t mind because it gives him a chance to “recharge the batteries during the midday” before heading off to class again. If the game for that weekend is away, the team does a light practice before heading off to the game on Fridays, and if it’s a home game, Bolger says Fridays and Saturdays are spent preparing to play at his best.
When asked how he manages school and this intense athletic schedule, Bolger stated, “The good thing about us is that we have a lot of people looking out for us. We have coaches and academic advisors who make sure we’re going to class and keeping our grades up.”
Being a punter has to come with loads of pressure when thousands of fans are watching, right? For Bolger, his confidence and calm attitude have helped him perform as well as he has throughout this season. He remembers being nervous the first practice of the season, because he was kicking in front of guys he had never met. Now, he says he’s made friends with lots of guys from the team and feels more confident playing alongside them.
The first game against San Diego State was the most nerve-wracking for him, as that was his first game appearance and first time playing with the Bengals. “I kicked in front of 25,000 people at San Diego, and that was the biggest crowd I’d ever played in front of, I was so nervous. From then on, I’ve gotten more relaxed and feel more confident in myself,” Bolger said. He knows this will translate into next year after having an entire season with ISU under his belt.
We cannot discuss anything related to the ISU football team without mentioning the insane comeback game against Eastern Washington University. The play which ended up winning the game for the Bengals was an onside kick which led to a touchdown for ISU. Bolger said, “That game was mental. We kind of practiced onside kicks during the week in practice, but you never think you’ll go for it in a game unless we really needed it, and we somehow pulled it off.”
Bolger said it was insane to see that play work, and their special teams coach was loving every second of it. He said the game against Eastern Washington was probably his best performance-wise, but his proudest moment was the first game of the season in San Diego. His coach from Ireland was there to support him on the sidelines and his parents stayed up late to watch it on TV.
Bolger said having his coach there for his first D1 game was such a special moment. His parents have also been able to watch a couple of games in person when they flew to the US to visit, but he says when they’re home in Ireland they always watch him on their computer.
While San Diego was a milestone moment in Bolger’s career, he also mentioned the game at Montana State in Missoula, saying the atmosphere was incredible. “There was like 35,000 fans, the atmosphere was mad. They were all so close to the sidelines. It was probably the coolest stadium I’ve ever gotten to play in.”
As for the differences between Ireland and Idaho, Bolger said food is the biggest one which comes to mind. “I miss Irish food, we have chicken fillet rolls for breakfast, and always drink tea,” he said. A few of Bolger’s roommates love to say, ‘top of the morning to ya!’ but according to Bolger, this is a common misconception Americans have about the Irish—no one actually says those phrases in Ireland.
He also explained the sheer size of America has been astonishing, as you can drive top to bottom in Ireland across the entire country in four hours. Meanwhile, Bolger now travels six hours on busses on weekends to get to games, which has been an adjustment. “Back home, one hour in the car was a road trip,” he added.
As for the best things about moving to Pocatello, Bolger stated, “The culture and the coach have been class here. Everyone in the locker room has been so appreciative of each other. Doing activities outside of football like team bonding has made us grow stronger together, that’s been my most favorite.” Bolger said this has been the most bonded team he’s ever been part of.
After his two years of eligibility playing for the Bengals, Bolger aspires to get drafted to the NFL. Ideally, he would play for his favorite NFL team: The Pittsburgh Steelers. Bolger actually lived in Pittsburgh for several months playing for the Pittsburgh Celtics Gaelic football team. He said he’s familiar with the city and would love to move back there to continue playing football at the professional level.
Bolger also has a passion for bringing more Irish out to America to be kickers and punters. His Irish coach has already offered him a coaching position back in Ireland, and Bolger said coaching is definitely something of interest for his future. However, he’s in no rush to get back to Ireland, saying he likes the states a lot and hasn’t gotten too homesick.
“I want to go to the NFL, but if that never happens, I can look back on these two years and know I gave it my all, and I made a dream come true.”
Bolger is an inspiration to all. He chased his dream of moving across the world to America to play the sport he loves and has made a significant contribution to the team he now plays for. From him, we can all learn our dreams are not too big, they are reachable and achievable.
Bolger finished with stating, “I want to say thanks for all the support this season, the team has loved the energy in Holt this year, and I’m looking forward to next season already and want to make everyone proud again.” Not only are the Bengals proud to have Bolger on their team, but Idaho State University itself is lucky to have such an incredible person and punter by their side.
