He accepted a football scholarship from Montana State University, following the footsteps of his older brother Troy, who was a defensive tackle.
As a sophomore, he led the team with 138 tackles, while contributing to the school winning the Division I-AA National Championship with a 12-2 record.
He left as the school's all-time leader in career tackles (519) and was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
In September, he was signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media.
Timmer married Kelly Angelos, a guard on the Montana State University women's basketball team.