Geraldo Boldewijn (born Geraldo Hiwat; February 14, 1991) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

wide receiver. He played college football at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

and attended Capital High School in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

. He has been a member of the Atlanta Falcons of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL)

Early years

Boldewijn was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and later began playing football for the Amsterdam Panthers of the

American Football Bond Nederland The American Football Bond Nederland (AFBN) is the governing body for American Football in the Netherlands. The AFBN was founded 1984 and refounded in 2001 after the merger of the rival leagues Nederlandse American Football Federatie (NAFF) and A ...

(AFBN). He started playing

flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. The sport has a strong amateur following ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and did not play tackle football until he was fifteen. He then moved to

to play one year of

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Capital High School, earning first-team All- Southern Idaho Conference and second-team all-state honors his senior year as the team finished with an 8-2 record. Boldewijn played in the East-West Shrine Game as well. He recorded 41 receptions for 502 yards and five touchdowns his senior season. He also rushed for 51 yards and one touchdown on three carries, returned eight kickoffs for 303 yards and a touchdown and returned six punts for 107 yards and a touchdown.

College career

Boldewijn played for the

Boise State Broncos The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Moun ...

from 2010 to 2013. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2009. He played in thirteen games in 2010, catching 11 passes for 160 yards. Boldewijn changed his name from "Geraldo Hiwat" to "Geraldo Boldewijn" after his redshirt freshman year. "Boldewijn" is his mother's last name. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2011 season by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

for receiving improper benefits, which was borrowing a 1990

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

with 177,000 miles on it. He played in, and started three, of the team's last nine games of the 2011 season, recording 19 receptions for 266 yards and two touchdowns. The NCAA suspended Boldewijn for the first four games of the 2012 season for receiving extra benefits, which resulted from his high school host family assisting him in booking a flight to the Netherlands to see his family over Christmas. He appeared in, and started four, of the Broncos' last nine games in 2012, catching 18 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He started all thirteen games his redshirt senior season in 2013, catching 39 passes for 528 yards and two touchdowns. Boldewijn majored in business at Boise State.

Professional career

Boldewijn had workouts with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL in April 2014. He later had a workout with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

in April 2015. Boldewijn signed with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in May 2014 after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. He injured his right hamstring during practice on August 26. On August 30, 2014, he was given an injury settlement and released by the team. Boldewijn's attempt to make the Falcons' final roster was chronicled on '' Hard Knocks''. On September 22, 2015, he was signed to the practice roster of the

of the CFL. He made his CFL debut and first start in the team's last game of the regular season, recording three receptions for 64 yards in a 28-7 loss to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. One of Boldewijn's three catches went for fifty yards. He was released by the Lions on November 14, 2015. He signed with the Lions on February 2, 2016.

Personal life

Boldewijn's family's roots are in Suriname.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boldewijn, Geraldo Living people 1991 births American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Capital High School (Boise, Idaho) alumni Dutch players of American football Dutch players of Canadian football Boise State Broncos football players Atlanta Falcons players BC Lions players Sportspeople from Amsterdam Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent