Big plays routine for Georgia RB
Jeffersonville (Ga.) Twiggs County coach Dexter Copeland gets a mental image of eyes rolling each time he tells someone about the kind of numbers running back Octavious "Bimp" Holston posted as a junior.
“I always have to repeat myself when I get to the part about his yards per carry,” Copeland said with a laugh. “It was 18. He rushed for almost 1,200 yards on only 66 carries.
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"We had a couple of good backs with him and JoJo Cox both going over 1,000 yards, so they more or less split the carries, but he was our big-play man. He broke several long ones. It was a great season for him.”
Holston (5-9, 205, 4.5) earned Class A all-state honors for his fine season. In addition to his 1,187 rushing yards, he also had 16 rushing touchdowns and one touchdown catch. On the defensive side of the ball, he recorded 90 tackles and 17 sacks from his defensive end position.
“Bimp's good on that side of the ball, too,” Copeland said. “He plays defensive end for us, but some people think he could be a decent outside linebacker at the next level.
“But I really like him as a running back. He’s a straight-ahead, north-south style of runner. He runs with great vision and power. He’s so strong in his lower body, one man usually can’t bring him down. You’ve got to gang tackle him.”
Holston brings impressive figures over from the weightroom this winter. He’s boosted his bench press near 300 pounds and squats 500.
“Last year, we weren’t really expecting much from him, and he just exploded out of nowhere,” Copeland said. “This year, we’ve seen him work even harder in the weightroom, so we’re expecting some big things out of him.”
Copeland said Georgia and Florida have expressed early interest in Holston, but that “his tapes are just starting to float around. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from a lot more people this spring.”
He added that Holston must continue to work in the classroom to put himself in a better academic position.