First two offers come in for Hollingsworth

In the past few weeks, Lee County, N.C. safety Jay Hollingsworth went from no offers to two Division I scholarships. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder is excited about his offers, but is he favoring anyone at this time?

"It was early in March I got an offer from Duke," he said. "When I got that, it was unbelievable. I was surprised because they hadn't sent me any mail and the offer basically came out of nowhere. I'm happy about the scholarship. They are an ACC school and get a lot of publicity and it would be a great environment. They are also recruiting me as a running back which is big. That's what I'd prefer and most schools think of me as a defensive guy.

"Four days after Duke offered, East Carolina sent me one. The coach told me he was pretty impressed with my film. I'm going to find out more about them this weekend on a junior day and sit down and talk with the coaches more."

With offers in hand, do any schools currently lead for Hollingsworth?

"I'm favoring Duke because of the running back option, but I'm still open," he said. "I'm also hearing a lot more from Virginia. They are interested, but Al Groh hasn't given the ok on an offer yet.

"Leaving football out of it, I'm looking for a engineering degree. That will be big. It would also be nice to stay close to home, although it's not necessary. The only other factor is playing time."

Following the trip to East Carolina this weekend, Hollingsworth plans to make a trip to Duke next weekend for their spring practice.

Hollingsworth ran for 1,048 yards and 12 touchdowns. He added 73 tackles and three interceptions on defense on his way to all-conference honors.