Dan Eyrich, AP Sports; photos courtesy Alex Ator EHS
EP football lineman Bryce Folsom signed a letter of intent to play for Loras College in Dubuque, IA. next season. Folsom will join teammate Afton Eyrich who also recently signed with the school.
Folsom said the idea to play college football was always in the back of his mind. “I started to get a lot of recruitment contacts after the season was over,” said the recent Erie High School graduate.” He received an honorable mention conference award as a defensive end for the Panthers last season.
“Loras had a certified financial planner program, which was a big part of making my decision to play there.” Folsom siad another factor in his decision making was the proximity of the school and the beauty of the area. “Loras really emphasized academics much more than any other school I visited. They have special study groups and on my visit they made it very clear how much of a priority my education would be. It made Loras the easy choice.”
Folsom signed as family, friends and coaches looked on in the Erie High School Media Center last week.
The lineman is still rehabbing an ACL tear that he suffered on the wrestling mat in January. He hopes to be able to get back on the field in September after dealing with another ACL injury during his junior season of football.
Loras asst. football coach Jon Powers said of Folsom, “Bryce fits everything we look for in a student-athlete in the recruiting process. He checks all the boxes in our evaluation process and comes from a great family. Highly intelligent individual and has shown his toughness, both on and off the field and has fought through adversity throughout his athletic career. When Bryce came on his visit with his family, we found that he can be a fantastic fit with what he wanted to study and his aspirations after graduating. We are extremely excited to add him to our football family and he will have a fantastic career here at Loras.”
Folsom thoroughly enjoyed his years of football in the EP program and said his coaches deserve a lot of praise for preparing him to play at the next level.
EP head coach Tyler Whitebread talked about Folsom’s tenacity and his role as a leader for the Panthers. “Bryce was a two-year starter for us his junior and senior years and received TRAC Honorable Mention his senior year at the defensive end position. He played offensive tackle and defensive end both years. He was a tough, hard nosed, smart, and a quiet leader for us. He was a team-first player, and vary rarely missed practice. I can probably count on one hand how many practices he missed during his high school career. Bryce is an extremely tough kid, which was proven his Junior year when he played with a torn ACL for the last three games of the year. It wasn’t until weeks after the season, he found out his ACL was torn. He rehabbed all off-season and wasn’t supposed to be ready for game one his senior year. However, Bryce proved everyone wrong and started the game for us and every game after. He has left big shoes to fill at the varsity level next year, but we wish Bryce all of the luck in his future endeavors.”
His parents Jason and Stephanie live in Erie with his twin sister Taylor who has participated in track and cross country for several seasons.
