Boise State Edge Rusher George Tarlas A Guy To Cheer For
This story begins with names like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Peja Stojakovic. Greek-born NBA basketball players.
Like any other sports-minded adolescent growing up in Greece, George Tarlas envisioned himself playing for the 'Association' one day.
"It's always has been an aspiration to play at the next level," Tarlas said. "When I came from Greece, that aspiration was more for the NBA. Things didn't turn out that way, I guess. When I began playing football, that changed."
Tarlas moved to the United States from Chalkida, Greece when he was sixteen. He played two years of high school football before beginning his college career at Weber State in 2017, where he would earn All Big-Sky honors.
His final year of eligibility brought him to Boise State this past season. Tarlas quickly established himself as one of the leaders of the Broncos' defensive front. However, a midseason hip injury robbed him of his final seven games.
During the first seven games of the season, Tarlas led the Broncos with six tackles for loss and ranked No. 2 with four sacks.
Although his season was cut short, his combination of quickness and power was too much to ignore. His brief audition in a Broncos uniform earned him an invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
"I was just getting out of surgery," Tarlas said upon the first time he learned that the invitation with his name on it was delivered. "It was exciting. I talked to the doctors, and we have a plan. So far, it's been going well and hopefully. I'll be ready to go by then."
Players arrive in Los Angeles at the beginning of the week (January 23rd) to practice and inner act with NFL personnel before playing in the game on January 28th. Plenty of time remains for Tarlas to figure out if he will be ready for action.
"I would say 50/50," Tarlas said on playing in the NFLPA game. "Because now, these next couple of weeks will be critical in that development. We can't tell the future, so we will know how I will be in the next few weeks."
Over the years, Tarlas has utilized the power of meditation to enhance many aspects of his daily life and maximize his abilities as a football player. After his hip injury in late October, meditation has been a key ingredient to jump-start his healing process.
"I use that to connect my muscles and my neuro fibers with my brain again," Tarlas said. "It goes along yoga Nidra flowing through your body as another particle that can clean and heal your body from negativity, illnesses and diseases."
Among the list of all-star invites across the college landscape, finding another player more dialed into their mind and body than Tarlas will be tough. When the decision needs to be made to perform at the NFLPA game, he'll know without a doubt if he is ready.
If you have managed to catch Tarlas play in college, you quickly identify him as a thumper, and he plays with quickness. Tarlas is a very decisive and disciplined player who plays the game with a physical presence.
He loves to punish his opponent.
Tarlas wants them to feel the anguish of his 6-foot-3- and 255-pound frame hammering them into the earth.
"I smashed him so hard he will remember that one forever," Tarlas laughs when recalling one hit. "I go all out. I don't hold anything back. When I'm on the field, I'm on in. There is no coming back. You tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
Tarlas likes to go quietly about his business on the field, but he laughs when revealing why he tends to shy away from that mindset once the game begins.
"I also want to start talking a little more because I have an accent," Tarlas jokes. "So, I feel that would be scary or intimidating to my opponents."
Another wrinkle to his unique personality was using his NIL money to help charitable causes for the homeless of Boise.
"I've always been that type of person," Tarlas said. "I do care about others more than I care for myself a lot of times. So, when you see someone struggling, the only thing you can do is help."
The athletic ability is evident on film.
That draws NFL teams to want to see and know more about him. It touches the surface of a young guy who is fun, charismatic and possesses an inquisitive nature.
His personality is contagious in exuberating positive vibes, and those characteristics make it so easy to cheer for him to succeed. Tarlas is one name to watch as the days build throughout this 2023 NFL Draft process.
Tarlas is a guy everyone can cheer for.
