Odd since he told Rivals last week he was focused on Florida, Rutgers, ND, OSU and PSU in no particular order.
'14 NY DT Thomas Holley (Florida Verbal)
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Odd since he told Rivals last week he was focused on Florida, Rutgers, ND, OSU and PSU in no particular order.
Kaneyoufeelit
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when?
Emcee77
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I think his recruitment is still pretty fluid. He has upcoming visits to Bama and Syracuse.
GoldenIsThyFame
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Wiltfong said this on his report:
I definitely trust Wiltfong's info moreso than II's and Sampson. Don't think II's recruiting info is as strong as 247. I don't understand why II would put an arrow down for Holley. Should just be a neutral rating. I don't even think Holley knows where he wants to go at this point. Long way to go here.
Emcee77
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Right. He seems not quite to have a handle on his own recruitment just yet.
He basically admitted as much in his comments last week about ND and OSU being similar ... IIRC, he said the two schools were similar and that he wouldn't really be able to differentiate them until he spent more time at each.
So based on that it's pretty clear that he hasn't fully thought things through just yet. I mean, even if he hadn't admitted himself that he has more thinking to do, the questionable comparison of ND to OSU demonstrates that fact. OSU is a huge state university, one of the biggest in the country. ND is a medium-sized Catholic university. Student life at the two schools is dramatically different. They may share some similarities as big midwestern schools with great football traditions, but I don't think of them as similar at all. As Holley admitted, he has a bit more research to do here before he is ready to decide.
STLDomer
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Sampson, Brown, Hare >> Loy, Biggers
Helmholdt <<< Wiltfong
TJ34 >>> any poster on 247
any feature of Rivals << AAVIP
If you're not gonna make much use of AAVIP go with Rivals. If u are go with 247
I would agree TJ's input is gold. I don't think he is contributing to the Master List though. Wiltfong is definitely better than Hare, Sampson and Brown though. He just seems to have better sources. Loy is too new and can't compare with Jason Sapp just yet. Give him some time.
GoldenIsThyFame
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Get the impression from the 247 article that Wiltfong just wrote that OSU might have the edge. Both Holley and his uncle mentioned OSU and UF as standouts while Thomas also added ND and FSU.
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ThePiombino
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PANDFAN
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http://247sports.com/Article/Lincoln-DT-Thomas-Holley-Named-A-247Sports-Five-Star-Pro
http://247sports.com/Article/Lincoln-DT-Thomas-Holley-Named-A-247Sports-Five-Star-Pro
The Fab Frosh All-American Basketball Camp back in 2010 was loaded with with potential five-star players and many future touted recruits.
Thomas Holley
Holley is high on several schools including Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Six players in the gym that week, Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Stanley Johnson, Cliff Alexander, Justise Winslow and Theo Pinson went on to earn five-star status in the 247Sports rankings.
So did Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln’s Thomas Holley.
However, Holley's five stars came in football.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Holley always thought he’d see five-stars next to his name. The same as everyone else at that camp, he thought it would be because of his talents on the hardwood. At that point, Holley had never even played organized football, and in his hometown, he was ranked higher than another current five-star basketball player in his Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln classmate Isaiah Whitehead. The two played on the same AAU team.
“You see kids, they grow early and some of them continue to grow and others teeter off,” Scott Benjamin, Holley’s uncle said. He coached his nephew and Whitehead on the AAU Circuit. “He was 6-foot by the time he was in the sixth grade and had a size 16 shoe. Everybody expected him to be 6-9, 6-10 and it didn’t happen.”
Holley came up dominating in the post and on the boards. A nimble and athletic big man that also had a history of playing soccer, swimming and baseball, Holley once poured in 63 points in a game. In middle school he received invitations to many of the All-American camps.
“At that level he was pretty unstoppable,” Benjamin said.
Holley is now unstoppable on the football field.
Following a strong performance earlier this month at The Opening, an invite only event for the top high school football players in the country held at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., Holley earned a bump in the 247Sports rankings, jumping 45 spots from No. 73 to No. 28 nationally, giving him a five-star grade.
For Holley, it seems like just yesterday the basketball recruiting process was just beginning for him. He said he was hearing from Marquette and Iona upon entering high school at basketball power Christ The King. Two years later he finds it crazy that he’s sifting through football scholarships from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse. Especially because he’s only played eight varsity football games to this day.
“I still love the game of basketball but I have to do what’s going to work in getting me to the next level and make my future brighter,” Holley said. “I rather make that sacrifice now and do what I need to do in college instead of flatlining playing basketball.
“Now I’m more into football. I’m loving the game and I’m learning it and still working hard.”
Even when Holley was the best basketball player in his neighborhood and one of the top prospects in the nation, folks around always said he should be playing football as well. While size is a huge advantage in youth basketball circles, it could be a negative when talking about the gridiron. If Holley were to play football, he would’ve had to bump up a couple age groups to meet the weight limit for the league. His family, particularly his mother, wanted no part of Holley banging pads with boys two to three years older. Holley wanted to try football but didn’t fight it too much because basketball was going so well regardless.
Playing in the post against juniors and seniors that stood in at 6-9, 6-10, it was a humbling experience for the young Holley. He was no longer considered a major prospect, however he wouldn’t have to wait long before his fortunes changed and he was a blue-chipper again.
As a sophomore at Christ The King, a Connecticut football coach noticed Holley working out and wondered why the young man wasn’t playing football. Add the Huskies representative to the list of others that thought Holley should be playing. Knowing that there weren’t many 6-foot-4 power forwards playing college basketball and even less of them in the NBA, Holley finally talked to his mom about letting him give football a try.
“I said let me at least try it out and see how it works, and if something happens I won’t play anymore,” Holley recapped. “She gave up.”
With football now on the mind, Holley and his family decided that Lincoln High and its track-record would better suit him and his development as a player. He transferred and had to sit out the first three games because state rules say he had to have a certain amount of practices under his belt before he was eligible to play. Finally in the lineup week four, Holley promptly scored a touchdown on his first-ever play from scrimmage.
Holley’s size, athleticism and physical style of play quickly translated to the football field.
“For me, trying football wasn’t a big adjustment,” Holley said. “The hardest thing I had to do was put my shoulder pads on because I didn’t know how to.”
Holley was also still learning the rules. On his first play, he entered the game in a third-down package and the opposition was backed up on their own 1-yard line. The plan was to catch Holley and his Lincoln teammates off guard and pooch punt the ball downfield. Holley instead beat the offensive lineman off the ball and shot through the gap. The quarterback got scared and missed the quick kick. Holley reached down and picked the ball up.
Touchdown.
“I didn’t know I scored,” Holley said. After picking up the ball he jogged to the sideline. “I just came off the field and was ready to go back in.”
“He didn’t understand what he did,” Lincoln head coach Shawn O’Connor remembered. “His mother didn’t know either. I had to tell her after the game he scored a touchdown. She was like, I was wondering what happened.”
Part of the reason why she was wondering what happened was because she missed the play all together. When Holley ran onto the field, she looked away.
“She thought he was going to get hurt,” Benjamin laughed.
As the season continued, Holley's mother kept her eye on the field and enjoys watching her son. She also realized people are worrying more about what kind of damage Holley is going to cause the other team.
Holley figured he'd eventually become a Division-I recruit. He was right when UMass was the first program to offer. Then came Florida State and it was all downhill from there.
“As you watch the film, his highlights and games, as the season went on you couldn’t tell this guy had only played football not even one year his whole life,” O’Connor said. “That is scary part about how good he can be.
Holley signed up for as many football camps as possible, turning in dominant performances and showing unbelievable upside. He earned an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game, making him the fourth All-American from his school according to O’Connor.
“I always had the confidence,” Holley said, adding that being a five-star football prospect only fuels his fire. “I think it makes me hungrier for when I get to the next level and get to the level beyond that. I want to be the best I can be and absorb everything. I don’t think I’ve worked so hard in my life. I’ve been working very hard to get better. I know I was so far behind when I first started. I knew at these camps with the little experience I had, I knew I had to learn as much as possible. I’ve been working out with my coaches at school, and working out two or three times a day in the weight room, doing stretching and doing swimming to keep my body intact.”
Once his film had made the rounds, the scholarship offers began to pour in for Holley in February and March. As those coaches were learning about him, Holley was likewise learning about them and their traditions. Holley didn’t know much about college football. On Saturdays growing up during the fall, he was typically at a basketball event away from the television. He knew who Nick Saban was and that Alabama won the last two National Championships, but that was about it.
“I’m learning a lot more about these schools, not just from a sports standpoint but an academic standpoint," Holley said. "I’m learning about the people on campus and the graduation rates and the different things that go into college besides the sports part.”
Holley has been able to make a few visits. He’s been to Rutgers and Penn State and recently in June, he made stops at Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The plan is to get to Alabama and Syracuse in early August before the season begins. In the very near future, Holley will sit down with his family and coach and narrow his options and begin lining up official visits. He has an idea on a few schools that will make the initial cut.
“If anything, probably Ohio State, Florida and Notre Dame and Florida State,” Holley said. “Just from the stuff they’re showing me when I went to their schools. Just the presentation they gave me and the love they showed and what they have to offer, that definitely helped them out a lot.”
Many of the same programs have impressed Holley’s uncle.
“Definitely Florida and Ohio State,” Benjamin added. “I’d probably say Notre Dame, Penn State, Florida State, probably Rutgers. We’re still hashing it out. Alabama has to be in that list. We haven’t been there yet.”
Holley does not have an exact timetable for a college decision.
“The decision is always going to be based on not just me, but somewhere my parents are comfortable in me going,” Holley explained. “I want to go somewhere that my family can get to easily. Definitely it would have to be a place where I’m going to get the most out of it from an academic standpoint and football standpoint.”
Back to football activities with his own team after a fruitful camp and combine season, O’Connor is in awe about how far his five-star has come along. Instead of using his size and brute force to dominate, Holley makes sure he’s playing the game technically sound as he knows come the next level he won’t be able to bully offensive linemen on the field.
“Looking at the spring practice we had, in camp we had four days in helmets and shoulder pads,” O’Connor began. “I see a tremendous difference in him already. Last year he was all new to the game and never played before. Obviously he had a tremendous end of the year for us and a decent year moving forward learning the game. Going to all these camps and doing drills and going against the competition he went against has added to his confidence and repertoire. He looked confident and looked like he’d been playing the game for a while.”
jc shurburtt stated :Longer it goes, the better Penn State's chances from what I have been told.
http://247sports.com/Article/Lincoln-DT-Thomas-Holley-Named-A-247Sports-Five-Star-Pro
The Fab Frosh All-American Basketball Camp back in 2010 was loaded with with potential five-star players and many future touted recruits.
Thomas Holley
Holley is high on several schools including Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Six players in the gym that week, Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Stanley Johnson, Cliff Alexander, Justise Winslow and Theo Pinson went on to earn five-star status in the 247Sports rankings.
So did Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln’s Thomas Holley.
However, Holley's five stars came in football.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Holley always thought he’d see five-stars next to his name. The same as everyone else at that camp, he thought it would be because of his talents on the hardwood. At that point, Holley had never even played organized football, and in his hometown, he was ranked higher than another current five-star basketball player in his Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln classmate Isaiah Whitehead. The two played on the same AAU team.
“You see kids, they grow early and some of them continue to grow and others teeter off,” Scott Benjamin, Holley’s uncle said. He coached his nephew and Whitehead on the AAU Circuit. “He was 6-foot by the time he was in the sixth grade and had a size 16 shoe. Everybody expected him to be 6-9, 6-10 and it didn’t happen.”
Holley came up dominating in the post and on the boards. A nimble and athletic big man that also had a history of playing soccer, swimming and baseball, Holley once poured in 63 points in a game. In middle school he received invitations to many of the All-American camps.
“At that level he was pretty unstoppable,” Benjamin said.
Holley is now unstoppable on the football field.
Following a strong performance earlier this month at The Opening, an invite only event for the top high school football players in the country held at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., Holley earned a bump in the 247Sports rankings, jumping 45 spots from No. 73 to No. 28 nationally, giving him a five-star grade.
For Holley, it seems like just yesterday the basketball recruiting process was just beginning for him. He said he was hearing from Marquette and Iona upon entering high school at basketball power Christ The King. Two years later he finds it crazy that he’s sifting through football scholarships from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse. Especially because he’s only played eight varsity football games to this day.
“I still love the game of basketball but I have to do what’s going to work in getting me to the next level and make my future brighter,” Holley said. “I rather make that sacrifice now and do what I need to do in college instead of flatlining playing basketball.
“Now I’m more into football. I’m loving the game and I’m learning it and still working hard.”
Even when Holley was the best basketball player in his neighborhood and one of the top prospects in the nation, folks around always said he should be playing football as well. While size is a huge advantage in youth basketball circles, it could be a negative when talking about the gridiron. If Holley were to play football, he would’ve had to bump up a couple age groups to meet the weight limit for the league. His family, particularly his mother, wanted no part of Holley banging pads with boys two to three years older. Holley wanted to try football but didn’t fight it too much because basketball was going so well regardless.
Playing in the post against juniors and seniors that stood in at 6-9, 6-10, it was a humbling experience for the young Holley. He was no longer considered a major prospect, however he wouldn’t have to wait long before his fortunes changed and he was a blue-chipper again.
As a sophomore at Christ The King, a Connecticut football coach noticed Holley working out and wondered why the young man wasn’t playing football. Add the Huskies representative to the list of others that thought Holley should be playing. Knowing that there weren’t many 6-foot-4 power forwards playing college basketball and even less of them in the NBA, Holley finally talked to his mom about letting him give football a try.
“I said let me at least try it out and see how it works, and if something happens I won’t play anymore,” Holley recapped. “She gave up.”
With football now on the mind, Holley and his family decided that Lincoln High and its track-record would better suit him and his development as a player. He transferred and had to sit out the first three games because state rules say he had to have a certain amount of practices under his belt before he was eligible to play. Finally in the lineup week four, Holley promptly scored a touchdown on his first-ever play from scrimmage.
Holley’s size, athleticism and physical style of play quickly translated to the football field.
“For me, trying football wasn’t a big adjustment,” Holley said. “The hardest thing I had to do was put my shoulder pads on because I didn’t know how to.”
Holley was also still learning the rules. On his first play, he entered the game in a third-down package and the opposition was backed up on their own 1-yard line. The plan was to catch Holley and his Lincoln teammates off guard and pooch punt the ball downfield. Holley instead beat the offensive lineman off the ball and shot through the gap. The quarterback got scared and missed the quick kick. Holley reached down and picked the ball up.
Touchdown.
“I didn’t know I scored,” Holley said. After picking up the ball he jogged to the sideline. “I just came off the field and was ready to go back in.”
“He didn’t understand what he did,” Lincoln head coach Shawn O’Connor remembered. “His mother didn’t know either. I had to tell her after the game he scored a touchdown. She was like, I was wondering what happened.”
Part of the reason why she was wondering what happened was because she missed the play all together. When Holley ran onto the field, she looked away.
“She thought he was going to get hurt,” Benjamin laughed.
As the season continued, Holley's mother kept her eye on the field and enjoys watching her son. She also realized people are worrying more about what kind of damage Holley is going to cause the other team.
Holley figured he'd eventually become a Division-I recruit. He was right when UMass was the first program to offer. Then came Florida State and it was all downhill from there.
“As you watch the film, his highlights and games, as the season went on you couldn’t tell this guy had only played football not even one year his whole life,” O’Connor said. “That is scary part about how good he can be.
Holley signed up for as many football camps as possible, turning in dominant performances and showing unbelievable upside. He earned an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game, making him the fourth All-American from his school according to O’Connor.
“I always had the confidence,” Holley said, adding that being a five-star football prospect only fuels his fire. “I think it makes me hungrier for when I get to the next level and get to the level beyond that. I want to be the best I can be and absorb everything. I don’t think I’ve worked so hard in my life. I’ve been working very hard to get better. I know I was so far behind when I first started. I knew at these camps with the little experience I had, I knew I had to learn as much as possible. I’ve been working out with my coaches at school, and working out two or three times a day in the weight room, doing stretching and doing swimming to keep my body intact.”
Once his film had made the rounds, the scholarship offers began to pour in for Holley in February and March. As those coaches were learning about him, Holley was likewise learning about them and their traditions. Holley didn’t know much about college football. On Saturdays growing up during the fall, he was typically at a basketball event away from the television. He knew who Nick Saban was and that Alabama won the last two National Championships, but that was about it.
“I’m learning a lot more about these schools, not just from a sports standpoint but an academic standpoint," Holley said. "I’m learning about the people on campus and the graduation rates and the different things that go into college besides the sports part.”
Holley has been able to make a few visits. He’s been to Rutgers and Penn State and recently in June, he made stops at Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The plan is to get to Alabama and Syracuse in early August before the season begins. In the very near future, Holley will sit down with his family and coach and narrow his options and begin lining up official visits. He has an idea on a few schools that will make the initial cut.
“If anything, probably Ohio State, Florida and Notre Dame and Florida State,” Holley said. “Just from the stuff they’re showing me when I went to their schools. Just the presentation they gave me and the love they showed and what they have to offer, that definitely helped them out a lot.”
Many of the same programs have impressed Holley’s uncle.
“Definitely Florida and Ohio State,” Benjamin added. “I’d probably say Notre Dame, Penn State, Florida State, probably Rutgers. We’re still hashing it out. Alabama has to be in that list. We haven’t been there yet.”
Holley does not have an exact timetable for a college decision.
“The decision is always going to be based on not just me, but somewhere my parents are comfortable in me going,” Holley explained. “I want to go somewhere that my family can get to easily. Definitely it would have to be a place where I’m going to get the most out of it from an academic standpoint and football standpoint.”
Back to football activities with his own team after a fruitful camp and combine season, O’Connor is in awe about how far his five-star has come along. Instead of using his size and brute force to dominate, Holley makes sure he’s playing the game technically sound as he knows come the next level he won’t be able to bully offensive linemen on the field.
“Looking at the spring practice we had, in camp we had four days in helmets and shoulder pads,” O’Connor began. “I see a tremendous difference in him already. Last year he was all new to the game and never played before. Obviously he had a tremendous end of the year for us and a decent year moving forward learning the game. Going to all these camps and doing drills and going against the competition he went against has added to his confidence and repertoire. He looked confident and looked like he’d been playing the game for a while.”
jc shurburtt stated :Longer it goes, the better Penn State's chances from what I have been told.
Irish Houstonian
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Will someone just f*ing come here and play NG already?
NDWorld247
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Holley has been talking more the month of July, but he's still not really saying much re: which way he's leaning, IMO. He's done a good job opening up without tipping his hand. Everything he is saying about what he's looking for screams ND. Of course that doesn't mean a whole lot as a lot of kids have sounded similar and then ended up at schools that appear to contradict what they were saying, but I still have faith he is Irish when it's said and done.
woolybug25
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No kidding. This is astonishing to me that DT recruits across the country aren't chomping at the bit to take over for Nix, who by the opinion of most NFL scouts, is the best NT in college football. We have a great defense that we rode to the title game last season with the NT being a prominent peice of the puzzle. With Nix leaving, and no star power behind him (imo), why wouldn't damn near every NT in the country at least consider it?
But instead... most are either not even considering us, or keeping us as a "hat on the table". It's baffling.
NDWorld247
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While I agree the lack of interest is surprising and disconcerting, there's a reason only about 15 teams in the country run a 3-4 defense. Also, most HS kids don't want to spend their college days absorbing double teams so LBs can make plays when almost every coach in the country is offering them an opportunity to be a penetrating DT in a 4-3 scheme. This may be the understatement of the year, but we lucked out with Nix.
Also, I posted this in another thread, maybe even in this thread, but the number of DTs weighing over 320lbs coming out of HS is alarmingly low, something like 10-15 of the top 130 DTs in the country. My numbers may be a little off but not by much.
GoldenIsThyFame
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Kyle Whittingham, coach of Utah (I know it's Utah)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Whittingham: "The 4-3 defense is becoming a dinosaur. It's extinct."</p>— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIPeteThamel/statuses/360124411245903873">July 24, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NDWorld247
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No doubt the 3-4 defense is better than the 4-3 because it allows you to disguise a lot more, but hard to say the 4-3 is becoming extinct when the overwhelming majority of teams in CFB are still running it. More and more are switching to the 3-4 so I think his statement is prophetic, but certainly not the case as of today.
Ndaccountant
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I think in the end, it is up to the staff to show how each player will benefit ND and the team, as well as prepare the young lad for the NFL. If most teams in the NFL are going to be a 3-4, a kid that is excelling in that defense in college stands to have greater appeal. Look at Nix, Alabama players, etc. Personally, I think it takes a special person, from a talent perspective and from a mental perspective, to realize their job is to move the line and not make tackles 3 yards behind the LOS. Too often, star HS players lack that perspective or do not have the humility or maturity to realize it.
ulukinatme
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This is a little surprising given that he said his OSU visit was kind of "meh." Granted, Urban was out of town and I don't think it was an official, but who knows. Holley is a big mystery right now. One week people think he's high on us, next week it's PSU, this week it's OSU, who knows. I do know we need to get his parents on campus, that's going to really help us.
B
Bogtrotter07
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I think this is part of his act, keeping things close to his vest.
GoldenToTheGrave
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While the 3-4 has a higher ceiling, players for a 3-4 are much more hard to come by, especially a high level nose tackle. So many teams switch to a 3-4 without the personnel for it, and it turns out to be a disaster.
As the Giants have shown (except for the past 2 years, don't know why their D has played so poorly), if you can get 2 high level pass rushing D-ends, they will consistently get pressure and cause turnovers.
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Those guys aren't easy to come by either.
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I don't know. LSU does it pretty well.
pkt77242
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Isn't that like saying great NGs are easy to come by because Alabama has no problem finding them?