This ‘Greek Freak’ isn’t in the NBA. He’s a Boise State pass rusher who has come home
Football wasn’t part of the plan when new Boise State edge rusher George Tarlas came to Idaho from Chalkida, Greece, when he was 16 years old.
Tarlas, who was a member of Greece’s U16 national basketball team, said he arrived with dreams of earning a college basketball scholarship, but quickly realized that he no longer recognized the sport he called his first love.
“Basketball wasn’t a great fit because the game is a lot different here from Europe,” said Tarlas, who spent most of his basketball career as a point guard. “It goes from IQ to one-on-one and who has the best talent, and I wasn’t that type of player. I was more of a team player.”
Tarlas first joined the football team at Caldwell High School because he said it would be a good way to stay in shape until basketball season began, but he quickly realized that his future was brighter on the field than on the hardwood.
After playing football for just two years — the second spent at Boise’s Borah High School — Tarlas earned a scholarship from Weber State in 2017. Now, after five seasons with the Wildcats, he’s back in Idaho to spend his final year of eligibility at Boise State.
“Boise State is a great fit for me because obviously they’re a winning program,” Tarlas said. “That’s something to be proud of as city and team.”
Boise State was also an ideal fit because of its history of putting pass rushers in the NFL, he said.
Curtis Weaver set the Mountain West record with 34 career sacks and now plays for the Cleveland Browns. DeMarcus Lawrence terrorized quarterbacks for the Broncos in 2012 and 2013, and continues to do so for the Dallas Cowboys. Shea McClellin hunted passers for Boise State from 2008 to 2011 and went on to play for the Bears and Patriots before he took over as the head coach at Marsing High last November.
“My ultimate goal is going to the NFL,” said Tarlas, who has the same nickname — sort of — as NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. “Having access to the resources Boise State can provide is the most important thing.”
Boise State was the first program that showed interest when he entered the transfer portal last November, Tarlas said. He was impressed with how regularly the Broncos’ coaches kept in touch — particularly defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson, who Tarlas said would text him almost every day.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound sixth-year senior signed with Boise State in December. He enrolled early and has been on campus since January.
It won’t take him long to make an impact on the field, said Weber State co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Grant Duff, who recruited Tarlas when he was at Borah.
“He’s developed all the way, and he’s a plug-and-play guy,” Duff said. “There’s nothing football-wise that he shouldn’t be ready for. That’s why Boise State wanted him.”
Starting from scratch in college football
Calling Tarlas raw when he arrived at Weber State would be an understatement, Duff said.
“Put it this way, I had to teach him how to get into a three-point stance,” said Duff. “In high school, his coaches did what they should have done. You have a big athlete, so you put him at middle linebacker and let him chase the ball. No thinking, no technique, just, ‘You’re the biggest, baddest dude on the field, so go get it.’”
Duff has an affinity for high school football players from Idaho because he was one. The native of Blackfoot graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2009 and joined the coaching staff at Weber State in 2014.
“The Idaho athlete is fantastic,” he said. “They’re tough kids, and they love football. They’re not as developed and refined in terms of high school athletes in other states, but I like that. It means their ceiling is higher.”
Tarlas fits that mold to perfection, Duff said. After redshirting in 2017 and playing sporadically the following year, he had a breakout season in 2019, despite playing behind two FCS All-Americans: Adam Rodriguez and Idaho native Jonah Williams, a former standout at Rocky Mountain High School who is on the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad.
Tarlas made his first start that year, posting six tackles and two sacks in a 41-35 win at the University of Idaho, and earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors. He grabbed two interceptions in a win over Montana in the 2019 FCS playoffs and finished the season with 31 tackles, nine sacks, five pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
“He realized in that year how good he could become,” Duff said. “He wasn’t worrying about the outcome of games and was focused on just being the best player he could be.”
Tarlas finished his Weber State career with 121 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, eight pass breakups and seven forced fumbles. His secret to success might have been a dedication to film study, and Tarlas credits Weber State head coach Jay Hill with opening his eyes to the importance of dissecting the game.
“Coach Hill said if you love the game, you have to learn the game,” Tarlas said. “The more film I watch, the more I’ll understand the game and the more I’ll know what teams are trying to do. That’s only going to make me a better player.”
Tarlas didn’t just grow as a football player at Weber State. He also met his wife, Brittney, and spent less time partying and more time studying for school and football, he said.
“I’m 23 years old but feel like I’m 30,” Tarlas said. “My wife has helped me grow mentally, and after a long day at the office watching film, it’s nice to come home to the support system I need to get to the next level.”
‘The Greek Freak’
Even when he didn’t know the finer points of football, Tarlas was a natural in an area that’s crucial for edge rushers: pressuring quarterbacks.
He earned the nickname “Greek Freak” at Weber State by “playing with passion and just going and getting the quarterback and not showing any emotion,” Tarlas said. He shares the moniker with NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who already has a trademark on “Greek Freak,” so Tarlas won’t be making any name, image and likeness (NIL) money off that.
“I don’t know how many Greek guys I’ve met, period,” Duff said. “I especially haven’t met many Greek guys with the athleticism that those two have.”
Tarlas is joining a defense at Boise State that has been in search of a “freak” pass rusher since Weaver racked up 13.5 sacks as a senior in 2019.
Defensive tackle Scott Matlock led the Broncos with seven sacks last season. Edge rusher Isaiah Bagnah finished with six, while defensive end Shane Irwin and linebacker Ezekiel Noa had three apiece. Irwin led the team with 6.5 sacks in 2020 — a season that was shortened to seven games because of COVID-19.
All of those players return for the 2022 season, but Boise State’s coaches went into the offseason with a goal of finding players with more experience, length and athleticism to put on the edge, Danielson said. He said they checked all those boxes with the addition of Tarlas and Deven Wright, a 6-5, 225-pound transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
“Being able to create matchups against an offensive line with players who have more length and athletic ability and can drop (into coverage) and rush and do all these different things, that’s when we’re at our best,” Danielson said.
Tarlas said he has been busy learning his new teammates’ names and getting to know Boise State’s strength staff in his first month on campus. He said the defensive scheme at Boise State is very similar to Weber State’s, and he’s excited to get on the field and show his athleticism during spring practice, which is scheduled to begin on March 4.
“It’s crazy how we operate as a team in everything we do,” Tarlas said. “I’m staying busy connecting with my teammates and working on my game, so I love it.”
BOISE STATE’S 2022 CLASS
CB Dionte Thornton, 6-3, 185, Lawndale (California) High
OT Kage Casey, 6-6, 250, Clackamas (Oregon) High
TE Austin Terry, 6-5, 230, Tumwater High (Olympia, Washington)
S Keenan McCaddy, 6-4, 180, Moanalua High (Honolulu, Hawaii)
OT Roger Carreon, 6-5, 295, Jal (New Mexico) High
DL JJ Talo, 6-3, 250, Kearns High (Salt Lake City, Utah)
LB Jayden Virgin, 6-3, 220, Mt. Carmel High (San Diego, California)
OT Hall Schmidt, 6-7, 300, Peninsula (Washington) High
WR Zamondre Merriweather, 6-2, 200, Valencia (California) High
QB Maddux Madsen, 6-0, 185, American Fork (Utah) High
LB Jake Ripp, 6-3, 215, Los Gatos (California) High
LB Gavin Hambrick, 6-2, 220, Apple Valley (California) High
RB Ashton Jeanty, 5-9, 195, Lone Star (Texas) High
P James Ferguson, 6-1, 175, Pro Kick Australia
OT Tyson Molio’o, 6-4, 295, St. John Bosco (Bellfower, California)
DE Cortez Hogans Jr., 6-3, 265, Snow College (Palatine, Illinois)
LB Dishawn Misa, 6-3, 230, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Washington)
Edge Deven Wright, 6-5, 230, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Clarksdale, Mississippi)
OL Cade Beresford, 6-7, 300, Washington State (Woodinville, Washington)
Edge George Tarlas, 6-4, 260, Weber State (Chalkida, Greece)
WR Prince Strachan, 6-4, 185, John Carroll High (Fort Pierce, Florida)
DT Braxton Fely, 6-2, 240, Timpview High (Provo, Utah)
QB Sam Vidlak, 6-1, 187, Oregon State (Applegate, Oregon)
