Edwin Tara-Kolenge is a true freshman linebacker from Montreal, Quebec, Canada playing at Boston College. At 6-foot-3, 217 pound, Tara-Kolenge has the frame of an outside linebacker, with room to grow and play anywhere else, on the edge, or in the middle as a middle linebacker. “I’m a real versatile player.” he said to JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic, “I can play anywhere and no matter what the coaches want me to do I will get the job done and do everything and more of what’s expected.”
He began to play football in Montreal, and starred in high school at Dauble Viau where he had enough film to actually get some offers to play division one football. Alongside those University offers though were also offers and opportunities to play high school football across the border to maximize his talents and open more doors for his future in football. Tara-Kolenge took on the opportunity to play at Clearwater Academy International in Florida. In Florida he went on to make 86 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 2 pass break ups and 3 sacks in just 8 games, averaging over 10 tackles a game. His play with the Knights opened the eyes of even more coaches at the collegiate level, and also other coaches at the high school and prep school level. At one point in time it seemed as if every single coach, whether that be in college or high school wanted Edwin Tara-Kolenge on his football team. Only one coach was able to have him though, and that ended up being Jeff Moore, the head coach of Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, Connecticut. After landing with Loomis Chaffee, Tara-Kolenge spent his senior year playing for the school’s football team, leading them to a championship while also working hard in the classroom, graduating early and getting ready to attend Boston College, where he had signed his letter of intent in December.
Being at Boston College, Tara-Kolenge told Zlomislic, “it feels good. It feels very accomplished. It was tough to get here. I put in a lot of work, and made sacrifices to be here, but it feels good to actually be here and have a season in front of me.”
Every single team he has played on, Edwin Tara-Kolenge dominated on. He has truly been a huge, valuable asset in every locker room he’s stepped into, and it’s expected that he will be a valuable asset at the next level as well with the Boston College Eagles, but his value, and his success will not stop at just football. Off of the football field, Edwin thinks of himself as a good chef, is very good with children, and is extremely intelligent, now taking Engineering at Boston College. He says, “I want people to see me as being more than a football player. Football has always been with me, and I am going to be playing football but I am a human being. I would like to be able to show everyone who I am past football.”
As mentioned, Tara-Kolenge is in Engineering at Boston College. Engineering has been something of interest for him since he was young. He said, “when I was younger, my dad was always building stuff and fixing stuff in the house. Seeing him do stuff, and do things that make a difference, I wanted to help him and got interested in building things and learning about how things are made. It was hard at first to get used to the school here, but I’m starting to get used to it more, and am getting more comfortable with it all.”
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One thing that he is not that used to yet, even though he is now in his third year away from home, is being removed from Tim Hortons and Coffee Crisp chocolate bars in Canada as well as his mom’s home cooked meals. He told Zlomislic, “I miss Coffee Crisp and Tim Hortons that we don’t have here. I used to get the “Timatin” at Tim Hortons all the time and the iced coffees. We have Dunkin Donuts here but it’s not as good. I’m also missing all of my mom’s cooking. That’s probably the biggest thing I miss because its my family.”
Being without his mom’s cooking, at Boston College, Edwin looks to cook a little bit himself. His best dish, “spaghetti,” he said.
Off of the football field, during his workouts, and even during his studying periods, Edwin listens to a lot of music. Right now his top 5 artists in his playlist, in no specific order, are Lil Baby, Gunna, Rod Wave, Roddy Rich and Lil Durk. His favorite song, a song he can put on repeat is “idk that bi*ch” by Gunna. Some of his favorite hobbies include playing video games (sports video games like Madden, NHL, Fifa), watching TV and hanging out with friends, but right now in his life he doesn’t have a lot of free time to explore those hobbies. As a student athlete at Boston College, Tara-Kolenge is extremely busy working on his craft for football and keeping up with his schooling. It is busy now, but it will all be worth it once he gets his opportunity. With the opportunity he has in front of him, he has the goals set to be a true freshman All-ACC, and overall be the best player of his ability, doing everything he can do as an individual to help the Eagles win a national championship.
For Eagles fans, they can expect a player that works his butt off non stop with Edwin Tara-Kolenge. There is no stopping for Edwin, and he will show exactly that with his play on the field which can look a lot like a mixture between former Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly as well as versatile linebackers like Micah Parsons and Isaiah Simmons. Edwin Tara-Kolenge is an athlete. He is a defensive playmaker, and as a 4 star signee for the Boston College Eagles he will indeed make a big splash with his new team as a linebacker that can not only rush the passer, and stop the run but also go into coverage.
With Canadians slowly taking over the NFL with guys like Chase Claypool, Chuba Hubbard, Jevon Holland, Joshua Palmer, Benjamin St Juste, John Metchie and Jesse Luketa set to play in the league and make big impacts next season, don’t be surprised if Edwin Tara-Kolenge is a name that circles the NFL in the next couple of years.
JZ MEDIA 