Clemson re-emerging in Rivals250 LB Dax Hollifield's recruitment
Rivals250 linebacker Dax Hollfield is one of the few uncommitted prospects that will be at the Army All-American Bowl next week. The Shelby, N.C. star has a pretty firm top three of Stanford, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech but Clemson is trying to get back into the picture.
IN HIS OWN WORDS…
“Clemson hit me up last week so now they are trying to get me,” Hollifield said. “It changes some things for me. I just want to cross all my t’s and dot all my i’s. I’ll probably take a visit there after my Stanford official visit in January. I’m not completely 100-percent on going down there but I probably will. I haven’t visited there in a year or two years but I’ve been there a lot.
“Coach Venables explained to me how they recruited my position and everything that happened,” he said. “He said they have one more scholarship and they want to take a top guy. They feel like I fit better than anybody so they want me. I used to love watching Ben Boulware. He reminds me a lot of myself. I’m not the most athletic guy and he’s not either but he works harder than the guy in front of him and tries to beat him like that. That’s kind of how I see myself playing.
“K.J. (Henry) is like one of my best friends and he’s been hitting me up all the time about it all,” said Hollifield. “Justin Foster is a Shelby boy and there are a lot of people from Shelby that go down there and play. It’s an hour and 45 minutes away from my house and family is a big key for me.
“On the academic side of things, Clemson is a great school,” he said. “I saw a ranking last year about academics and football combined and Stanford was number one and Clemson was number two. That’s one of the things I like about it.
“Everything is pretty much the same with my other schools,” Hollifield said. “I’m about done with my Stanford application and I’ll be sending it out this week.
“North Carolina really wants me to come down for some basketball games and really want me to get back on campus,” he said. “I have three basketball games myself this week so it’s pretty busy.
“Virginia Tech is on me pretty much every day,” said Hollifield. “They’re going to make their final push in January. I was planning on leaving to go to Stanford on January 12th and I think that’s the first day after the dead period ends. Coach Foster was going to try to meet me at the airport really early in the morning to talk to me before I leave. That’s not going to work out though.”
RIVALS’ REACTION…
Stanford is still the leader for Hollifield but North Carolina and Virginia Tech clearly aren’t giving up and are doing everything they can to swing momentum to their favor. Clemson’s re-emergence could make things a little more difficult for the Tar Heels or Hokies to catch Stanford. The Tigers are an attractive option for Hollifield but there are a lot of things to work out between the two sides. Hollfield’s reaction to his Clemson visit, which could be the weekend of January 19th, should be very telling.
