Hollins seeing stock skyrocket
Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall defender Deon Hollins Jr. has become quite the popular product among college recruiters as of late. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker now has close to 20 offers to his name.
In fact, the four-star prospect has actually added half a dozen offers from new schools in just the past few days.
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"Over this past weekend I received offers from Utah, Colorado, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Notre Dame," Hollins said on Tuesday afternoon. "My coach called me today and he said tomorrow Oklahoma wants to talk to me on the phone and they are going to offer me too."
Hollins attended a junior day at Texas A&M this past weekend and will head to Texas this upcoming weekend but those are not the only trips he has scheduled.
"I plan on attending some spring practices and some spring games," he said. "I'm already scheduled to go to Washington and Oregon for spring ball and I'll probably hit some others as well."
As far as the A&M junior day, Hollins says he liked what the Aggies had to offer.
"Everything was nice," he said. "The facilities were really nice. I liked the fact that they had all the things for the football players such as meeting areas and the academic center all in one place. I also liked how family-oriented things were down there."
Texas A&M picked up several commitments from the junior day and at least one of them has already started recruiting Hollins for the Aggies.
"Actually, J.J. Gustafson messaged me on Facebook," he said. "He told me it would be nice if I went there and it would make him better at practice. I don't know actually how I fit in in their scheme per se. Coach (Mark) Snyder had told me I was their No. 1 defensive prospect though."
With the trip to Austin coming up this weekend, Hollins says he has had plenty of communication with the Longhorn staff.
"Texas hasn't said where I stand with a possible offer," Hollins said, "but coach (Manny) Diaz and coach (Oscar) Giles, they message me frequently. Coach Giles wants me on the d-line with him but coach Diaz said that I would make an excellent Buck."
If an offer were to come from Texas over the weekend Hollins says a commitment would not be completely out of the question.
"It all depends," he said. "I have to listen to my father and get his feedback too. Since I'm just a kid, basically, I tend to get tunnel vision at times but my parents know what's best for me."
With Oklahoma the newest offer on the table, Hollins says he has not had a chance to truly evaluate the Sooners just yet.
"Actually, I didn't know (Oklahoma was) interested in me at all before now," he said. "I just have to turn my mind over to a new mindset of thinking and look at them now."
Though Hollins is a high school defensive end, some colleges are looking at him to possibly play outside linebacker. He says it is not a big deal to him either way as long as he is able to rush the passer.
"I would prefer to play outside," he said. "If I were to play in a 4-3 scheme I would like to blitz heavily, which is what coach Snyder (at Texas A&M) has planned for me. If it was a 3-4 look, I would play outside linebacker."
Though Hollins is still considering every program, he admits to having a top five out of the schools that have extended offers so far.
"It's not in any particular order," he said. "In terms of my offers, though, Washington, Arkansas, Stanford, Notre Dame and A&M would be my top group."