AUSTIN, Texas — The Bastrop Bears are a football team loaded with big time talent, but if you were to look across the field at a practice, you can’t miss Tiki Hola. He’s the tall guy, standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 285 pounds, with long hair and arm tattoos.

The look is part of his strong heritage.

“I’m Tongan and I take that as a big tradition as a part of me,” says Hola. “Everyone sees the long hair and tattoos and I see that as a part of me.”

Hola grew up in California before moving to Texas. He picked up the game of football from watching his cousins play. He realized he might be pretty good when he got to Bastrop and started playing in high school.

“All these new coaches came in and they made me better,” says Hola. “They made me focus on certain things that I wasn’t use to. I was like maybe I can go pretty far in this.”

Hola quickly grabbed the attention of colleges with his size and strength. He holds offers from some of the best programs in the country, like Oregon, Georgia, Texas, and LSU.

“That’s always been a dream of mine to play at the next level, all these colleges started seeing me and I was like this is what it feels like,” says Hola. “I see all this over social media and it’s like in my hands now. It’s a crazy process and everything.”

Hola is in his junior season and has plenty of time to pick a college. Right now, he’s focused on helping this Bastrop team win a district title and make a deep run in the playoffs. 

“This team is going to be very special by the end of the year,” says Hola. “If we just keep doing us and moving forward, then we’ll probably be the best team to come out of Bastrop.”

With all the attention that comes with being a big-time recruit, Hola stays grounded with those closest to him.

“The number one thing is god and obviously my family,” says Hola. “I try not to overwhelm myself with everything and focus on the moment and take it day by day.”