Hokies lead for Virginia lineman
Two-star offensive guard/defensive tackle Brandon Holland is getting very close to making a decision on where he will attend college. Rated the No. 20 prospect on the Rivals.com Virginia Top 25 list, the Roanoke (Va.) Northside athlete stands 6-foot-5, weighs 281 pounds, and runs a 4.8-second 40-yard dash. Although he has a leader, four other schools still stand a chance of landing his signature.
So far this month Holland has been contacted by Clemson, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Maryland, and Tennessee, but is it all for nothing? One school already appears to have a pretty big lead for his services.
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“Virginia Tech is still number one,” he commented. “Basically I know all of the coaches, and they have an awesome defense. It is just perfect. They are a good fit, because they run the same defense as we run and they are close to home.”
Although it looks like Holland may already know where he will be next year, he is not ready to take the plunge yet, and says four other schools – Tennessee, Maryland West Virginia, Clemson – are still under consideration. What gives these schools a chance to gain his services?
Tennessee: “Just the atmosphere, the fans, and the game environment. Everyone is all about football there, and it is a good school for academics.”
Maryland: “I don’t know too much about them. I haven’t been there, but I heard everyone likes it, and I want to find out for myself.”
West Virginia: “One of their coaches and my marketing teacher are friends. He (his teacher) went there and they are good friends. He is talking to me, and I get letters everyday. They have a good sports marketing program, and that is something I am thinking about going in to. I am going to see them play Tech.”
Clemson: “They have impressed me. I went on visit there, and it is in a small town. The school is great and the head coach is nice. It has a good atmosphere, and academically they have some neat stuff. It is just a good school.”
So far Coach Kevin Rogers from Virginia Tech and Coach John Lovett from Clemson have been the coaches that have made the biggest impression on Brandon. All of his top five except Tennessee have extended scholarship offers, and North Carolina has also offered verbally. He said he plans to commit in one or two months, after taking his official visits.
Holland is currently in the process of trying to set up an official visit to Clemson in November, and would also like to take trips to West Virginia and Virginia. He plans to watch several games unofficially this fall, including Virginia Tech - UCF, Tennessee - Georgia, UVA and Wake Forest, Clemson - Florida State, and he just returned home from watching the Virginia Tech - Texas A&M game.
He was not able to attend any camps this summer, due to summer school, but went to the Nike Camp in Blacksburg this spring. His work over the summer should be enough to give him a qualifying GPA and he is scheduled to take the SAT on October 11. He plans to major in sports medicine or computer technology.
On the season Brandon has recorded nine tackles and two sacks, while playing on both sides of the ball. As a junior he added approximately 70 tackles and five and a half sacks.