4-star WR from Rock Hill enjoys Saturday in Columbia
January 26, 2018
Fond memories
Jamario Holley smiles any time he thinks about the end zone at Williams-Brice Stadium. A couple of years have gone by since that trip to pay dirt, but it’s a visit he won’t soon forget.
It was the South Carolina 4A Division II state championship game during Holley’s freshman season at Northwestern High School (Rock Hill). With a comfortable 28-7 second-quarter lead on Lexington, there was plenty of blood already in the water as the chatter grew on the Trojans sideline.
“I remember that play, because everybody was scoring and everybody was like, ‘Holley has got to score.’ They made this play just for me and I got the ball and was in the end zone,” Holley said. “Everybody just went wild.”
He caught 70 passes for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns that season, but the 29-yard score was pretty darn special. Plus, Northwestern rolled to a 63-13 win that night in Columbia.
“It was unbelievable,” Holley said. “There were so many people there. The atmosphere was great.”
A couple of years later
Now a junior, Holley’s a 4-star recruit who’s ranked by the 247Sports composite as the No. 43 wide receiver in the Class of 2019. He was back in Columbia last Saturday for the Gamecocks junior day.
“We did a tour. I met with the coaches. We ate and things like that. It was just a fun day,” he said.
It was his first trip back to South Carolina since the state championship.
After he arrived, Holley spent 5-10 minutes with Muschamp over breakfast. In the afternoon, Holley and his coach, James Martin, met 1-on-1 with Muschamp for another 10-15 minutes.
“They made things straightforward, told me what it was and what it wasn’t, things like that,” Holley said.
Running backs coach Bobby Bentley recruits Holley’s area.
“He’s a good guy. I like his personality, the way he comes to me, talks to me, says things,” Holley said.
Holley said he’s still getting to know offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon, but they’re “on good terms” and hears from him regularly through text messages.
Overall, the 6-foot, 180-pound prospect is comfortable with what’s going on around South Carolina’s program.
“It’s really good,” he said. “Everything is falling into place with them.”
Other options
Along with South Carolina, Holley has several offers, the most recent of which came from Arkansas, where former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris is now positioned as coach.
“I don’t really know too much about them. Haven’t really met the coaches, so I’m looking forward to that,” Holley said.
Arkansas wide receivers coach Justin Stepp relayed the offer during a conference call with Holley and Martin.
“They were supposed to fly in last week, but we had the snow,” Martin said.
The Razorbacks have piqued Holley’s interest and he’s considering a visit at some point down the road.
One school that he knows he’ll visit is Virginia Tech. That’s up next month.
“There’s not really too much I really know about them, but I know they’ve got interest in me, because they came all the way down here just to see me,” Holley said.
Florida State and Tennessee have offered, but both of those tenders came before each school changed coaches.
Coach speak
Martin: “I think he’s just a deadly weapon. You’ve got to account for him, wherever he’s at on the field. Defenses have to decide if they’re going to try to play him man on man or try to bracket him and play a high-low, take two guys to cover him. If they do that, it opens up other spots in our pass and run game, but just the routes that he runs, his quickness, acceleration after he catches the ball.
“I think the best thing is his hands. Balls are thrown to him and you wonder, how did he catch that ball? And it’s just like a magnet a lot of times, so he’s really reliable catching the ball. There’s multifacets of his game that make it fun to watch him. But I think the biggest thing I like watching is him on tunnel screens, just seeing him catch a ball and picking his spot and go. It’s fun to watch.”
By the numbers
January 26, 2018
Fond memories
Jamario Holley smiles any time he thinks about the end zone at Williams-Brice Stadium. A couple of years have gone by since that trip to pay dirt, but it’s a visit he won’t soon forget.
It was the South Carolina 4A Division II state championship game during Holley’s freshman season at Northwestern High School (Rock Hill). With a comfortable 28-7 second-quarter lead on Lexington, there was plenty of blood already in the water as the chatter grew on the Trojans sideline.
“I remember that play, because everybody was scoring and everybody was like, ‘Holley has got to score.’ They made this play just for me and I got the ball and was in the end zone,” Holley said. “Everybody just went wild.”
He caught 70 passes for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns that season, but the 29-yard score was pretty darn special. Plus, Northwestern rolled to a 63-13 win that night in Columbia.
“It was unbelievable,” Holley said. “There were so many people there. The atmosphere was great.”
A couple of years later
Now a junior, Holley’s a 4-star recruit who’s ranked by the 247Sports composite as the No. 43 wide receiver in the Class of 2019. He was back in Columbia last Saturday for the Gamecocks junior day.
“We did a tour. I met with the coaches. We ate and things like that. It was just a fun day,” he said.
It was his first trip back to South Carolina since the state championship.
After he arrived, Holley spent 5-10 minutes with Muschamp over breakfast. In the afternoon, Holley and his coach, James Martin, met 1-on-1 with Muschamp for another 10-15 minutes.
“They made things straightforward, told me what it was and what it wasn’t, things like that,” Holley said.
Running backs coach Bobby Bentley recruits Holley’s area.
“He’s a good guy. I like his personality, the way he comes to me, talks to me, says things,” Holley said.
Holley said he’s still getting to know offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon, but they’re “on good terms” and hears from him regularly through text messages.
Overall, the 6-foot, 180-pound prospect is comfortable with what’s going on around South Carolina’s program.
“It’s really good,” he said. “Everything is falling into place with them.”
Other options
Along with South Carolina, Holley has several offers, the most recent of which came from Arkansas, where former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris is now positioned as coach.
“I don’t really know too much about them. Haven’t really met the coaches, so I’m looking forward to that,” Holley said.
Arkansas wide receivers coach Justin Stepp relayed the offer during a conference call with Holley and Martin.
“They were supposed to fly in last week, but we had the snow,” Martin said.
The Razorbacks have piqued Holley’s interest and he’s considering a visit at some point down the road.
One school that he knows he’ll visit is Virginia Tech. That’s up next month.
“There’s not really too much I really know about them, but I know they’ve got interest in me, because they came all the way down here just to see me,” Holley said.
Florida State and Tennessee have offered, but both of those tenders came before each school changed coaches.
Coach speak
Martin: “I think he’s just a deadly weapon. You’ve got to account for him, wherever he’s at on the field. Defenses have to decide if they’re going to try to play him man on man or try to bracket him and play a high-low, take two guys to cover him. If they do that, it opens up other spots in our pass and run game, but just the routes that he runs, his quickness, acceleration after he catches the ball.
“I think the best thing is his hands. Balls are thrown to him and you wonder, how did he catch that ball? And it’s just like a magnet a lot of times, so he’s really reliable catching the ball. There’s multifacets of his game that make it fun to watch him. But I think the biggest thing I like watching is him on tunnel screens, just seeing him catch a ball and picking his spot and go. It’s fun to watch.”
By the numbers
- Junior: 75 catches for 1,178 yards and 18 touchdowns (12 games)
- Sophomore: 34 catches for 409 yards and 3 touchdowns (9 games)
- Freshman: 70 catches for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns (13 games)
