On Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, Pennridge seniors Oliver Jervis and Nick Tarburton were recognized for signing letters of intent to play football at the collegiate level. Check back for a gallery of photos.
“These two have just been terrific for three years – really, really excellent players,” coach Jeff Hollenbach said. “For them to be the leaders on this 11-3 team, they just had a terrific year this year and are leaders on the field. Both of them are unbelievably great with younger players, encouraging younger players and not ever putting them down, so that really impressed me about both of them over the years. I think both of them are going to have really great careers as they move on. I just think their future is really bright. They’re both respectful, humble guys, and I think they’re going to do some really good things.”
Oliver Jervis – Monmouth University (Football)
Major: Business (Finance/Economics)
Final list of colleges: Monmouth, Lafayette
Reasons for choosing Monmouth: “It was definitely more the academic side. Their business school is a big choice. They have a lot of opportunities right by New York City, which is good for internships, and the size was perfect for me. It’s a little bigger than Pennridge with 6,000 students.
“This year was the first time (their football team was) in the national playoffs. The team went from 4-7 to 9-2 this year, so they’re a growing team. They have a lot of younger players so they’re still building, which is awesome.“
What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level? “Ever since I was a little kid, I thought I was going to play baseball in college. Just the team aspect (of football) – as a younger kid, it wasn’t really important. Baseball is very individual. I want to make friends in college, and my teammates are going to be the people in my wedding someday.
“Honestly, last season I wasn’t even going to play football because I thought I was going to college for baseball. Coach Hollenbach talked me into playing again. I love the sport, but I wasn’t sure about playing two sports junior year. In the spring, a bunch of schools started coming in, and I was like – maybe I have a shot here. I never doubted me being able to play, it was just me getting an opportunity to play is what I was waiting for.”
Coach Jeff Hollenbach says: “Oliver just had a terrific year. We asked him to do all kinds of things, and he would just do whatever we wanted him to do, including our punting game and kicking. We lost our kicker week eight or week nine, so Oliver just said, ‘You want me to do it coach – I’ll do it.’ In his future, they’re talking about offensive line and possibly defensive end, and he will give everything he’s got to do well at either of those positions. I think he has great potential. His frame and long arms, especially for an offensive tackle, those long arms are really, really important, so it’s going to be real interesting to see how things go with him. I still want him to really get some punting lessons. I think he has real potential as a punter. He’s never been trained, so there’s something else you can help the team with.”
About Oliver:
Favorite food: Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger with Fries
Favorite movie: The Dark Knight & Remember the Titans
Favorite music: Christian/Country
Nick Tarburton – Penn State University (Football)
Major: Business Management
Final list of colleges: Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland
Reasons for choosing Penn State: “The biggest thing with me is the family aspect up there. As soon as I stepped onto the campus, I felt a part of the family. Everyone up there is awesome. The whole class is just absolutely unbelievable. From a playing standpoint to a personal standpoint, everybody up there is absolutely amazing, and the tradition there is just unreal. Everything about it – I just fell in love with.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level? “It was always a dream to play Division I football. (The recruiting) started after my sophomore year – I began to get some looks. Nothing crazy until the start of my junior football year, and then the offers began to come right after my junior season.”
Coach Jeff Hollenbach: “My definition of a Division I football player has always been – can you dominate as a sophomore? Not just – can you play, but can you dominate as a sophomore, especially in our league. So if you really stand out as a sophomore in our league, you’ve got a chance, in my opinion, to be a Division I player because that’s the level of quality and the level of play you’re going to see at their level. Nick dominated as a sophomore. He was first team all league. He’s been all-state a couple of years. He has been just a wonderful leader on and off the field. He’s been another coach on the field. He would come over during games, and he would have a lot of ideas, especially defensively, and all were very respectful and all were very ‘this can really help us’ kind of thing. He really thinks the game.
“Of the many, many, many players I’ve coached over the years, he is maybe the most intense player, especially in games. He’s very positive but very, very intense and focused. Coach (James) Franklin was here last week, and he was talking about playing to the edge. When the whistle blows, the play is over, but playing to that edge. Nick plays with a high energy. Coach Franklin looked at him and said, ‘Those edge kind of players we saw a lot more when we were in the SEC at Vanderbilt than we see here. We have a bunch of really good people and awesome players, but sometimes we don’t play to the edge the way we need to. To be successful in the Big 10, that’s what we need.’ I think they’re excited about Nick.”
About Nick:
Favorite food: Crabs
Favorite movie: The Blind Side
Favorite music: Country
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