News regarding Rivals250 linebacker Dax Hollifield has been trickling out over the last few weeks. The Shelby, N.C. went in depth on his recruitment, including his top five, upcoming visits, and which schools will get official visits.

IN HIS OWN WORDS…

"Right I'm trying to figure out my official visits," Hollifield said. "It would be Stanford, Florida State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Right now those are my top five but it could change.

"It's 'same old, same old' with North Carolina," he said. "I haven't planned any visits back to Chapel Hill yet but maybe soon. They got Jordyn (Adams), Dyami (Brown), and Avery (Jones). They're doing really well recruiting right now. I have to have players around me. Football is a team sport and I want to win.

"Virginia Tech is doing really well too,"said Hollifield. "Coach Foster predicts that in two or three years they'll be right where they were in the early 2000's, competing for a National Championship. I agree with him. They've got some really good players committed. I'll be there on July 22nd.

"South Carolina is in the same place with me right now but they're not doing as well on the recruiting trail," he said. "They could get some big time players and easily have a very good class. I'm going down to South Carolina on July 21st.

"I just wanted to see what it would be like to travel out to Stanford and it wasn't bad at all," Hollifield said. "It was only five hours. It takes me three hours to get to Virginia Tech, a little under three hours to get to North Carolina, and two to get to South Carolina. On the way back from Stanford it only took four and a half hours so it wasn't bad at all.

"I really didn't think I was going to like the culture out there because the few people I met before I didn't really connect with," he said. "It's just different and I enjoyed the people I met on the trip. They have people from everywhere. I stayed with Peter Kalambayi and it was great. I was trying to figure out for him being from North Carolina also. I wanted to see how he adjusted to it and he loves it.

"I love the coaching staff at Florida State," said Hollifield. "I believe they could win the National Championship this year. They could easily do it in the next few years too. They've been preaching to me that they need another MIKE linebacker. That's appealing to me. I could step right in and play. The only thing that worries me is that coach Miller, he's a great coach, has been coaching for 40 years. He might say he wants to move on and that's the only down side. I know Amari Gainer pretty well.

"I'm trying to take my official visit to North Carolina for the Notre Dame game," he said. "I'm not sure when my Stanford official visit will be. I want to go to Virginia Tech for the Clemson game. I don’t know when I'll the South Carolina visit. Florida State's official visit will be for the Miami game. That's the only one that's locked in.

"I've waited this long for my commitment," Hollifield said. "Why not wait it out now?"

RIVALS' REACTION

Hollifield is making a lot of progress planning out the rest of his recruitment. As of now, the key players here are Stanford, Florida State, and Virginia Tech but all five schools will likely get official visits and that could change everything. Stanford has been doing a great job with Hollifield's family but Hollifield will take the SAT again and still needs to finish his essays. Florida State has made major strides over the last few months and that could continue. Hollifield's familiarity with Virginia Tech and how close he feels to the coaching staff and players really works to their benefit. Those bonds will likely get stronger this weekend when he visits. North Carolina is very much in the conversation and is in a similar position to Virginia Tech but their progress on the recruiting trial is a bit behind the Hokies. That could change as the recruiting cycle moves forward. The same goes for South Carolina. The Gamecocks have strong relationships with Hollifield and his family and they have a great shot to move up Hollifield's list as they gain momentum on the recruiting trail.