Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
L ong before his recruitment started, even longer before he signed his letter of intent, Jonathan Holland knew ex- actly where he wanted to attend college. What he wasn't so sure of, however, was at which position he wanted to play. Penn State had always been his top op- tion. In fact, he was recruiting other prospects to the Nittany Lions even before he had verbally committed. Then in May of his junior year, the 6-foot-4, 235- pounder from Brandywine, Md., revealed his decision, choosing PSU over some of the top programs in the country. Penn State, along with Georgia and Clemson, initially recruited Holland as a defensive end. As his senior season un- folded, however, Holland began making a splash on the o7ensive side of the ball, and his mind began to change. He 5nished that season with 22 catches for 311 yards and four touchdowns and with the idea that his college future was at tight end. Since he committed to PSU as a defensive end, he was uncertain whether his schol- arship would be honored for o7ense. Mean- while, schools like Iowa, Florida State, Michigan and Notre Dame were showing interest. Although he never backed out of his commitment, he at least brie6y listened to what they were o7ering, mostly because they wanted him as a tight end. "It was somewhat because of the position change, because I didn't know what Penn State thought of me and how they felt about me playing tight end, so I was a little hesitant," Holland said. "I didn't know if they were going to honor my commitment if I wanted to switch to that position. So it caused me a little hesitation, and I [con- sidered] visiting other places because I wanted to change to a new position." But he held o7. He also kept open lines of communications with the sta7 at Penn State. The coaches weren't totally opposed to him playing tight end; it was just that defensive line coach Sean Spencer loved what he had seen from Holland on defense and wasn't going to give up on him easily. Then in October of his senior season, James Franklin and Charles Hu7, Holland's area recruiter, visited The Bullis School for its game against Avalon. It ended in a 34-12 win for Holland's Bulldogs, but it was on the 5rst score of the game that they saw what they came to see. On the third play, Holland's quarterback lobbed a pass into the back corner of the end zone. Holland out-leaped a couple defensive backs and came down with the touchdown – a few feet in front of Franklin and Hu7, who were standing just outside the white line. "A9er that catch, Coach Franklin said, 'That's all I really need to see. You can play on either side of the ball. It's up to you,' " Holland remembered. "That was a cool play. It made a couple top 10s, which was cool. It was fun having my future coaches there watching me play a high school game. Seeing them on the sideline was good. It was one of my best games of the season, which was good because I got to show o7 what I could do in front of my future coaches." Shortly a9er that game, Holland was on the phone with Franklin. "He told me I could play either/or – de- fensive end or tight end," Holland said. "That was great for me because I was happy. I had other schools looking at me for tight end, so I was hoping that Penn State a7orded me the opportunity to play tight end also, so I could keep my com- mitment there." That he did. Although rumors 6oated that Holland was considering o8cial visits to places like Iowa, Notre Dame and Florida State, he called o7 all other trips a9er that game vs. Avalon, following his con- versation with Franklin. "A9er Coach Franklin straightened it out with me that he'd like me to play tight end just as much as he liked me to play D-end, all the other potential visits got shut down," he said. "A9er my commit- ment I stayed loyal. I didn't check any- where else out." Franklin is thankful he stayed true, be- cause as he said a9er signing day, Holland "can play tight end or defensive end. He told us he wants to play tight end, so that's where he'll play for us. You can watch him on 5lm making play a9er play a9er play. ... He's going to be a big-time player for us." ■ Penn State was always atop Holland's list | CLICK HERE to see video of Holland in action. THE HOLLAND FILE STATS Finished with 22 catches for 311 yards and four touchdowns as a senior... Totaled 51 tackles, including five tackles for loss and three sacks... Helped lead The Bullis School to Interstate Athletic Conference titles in 2013 and '14 HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 12 player in Maryland and the No. 18 tight end nationally... Received second-team All-Met notice from The Washington Post U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L