I thought some of you would like to see some of the tidbits on Deon Hollins that were going to make up my story before he committed to UCLA. Keep in mind he texted me telling me he plans to visit Ohio State and I don't think this one is 100% over by any means considering he committed to UCLA like 2 hours after telling me the info below:
- Hollins had 70 tackles (32 for loss) and 15 sacks last year playing DE, his first year at Marshall after transferring
- He has 24 offers right now and says Michigan and Texas are the schools that haven't offered that are recruiting him the hardest
- Mark Pantoni was the first one to contact him from OSU, reaching out over Facebook. Shortly after, Tom Herman and him got on the phone and just talked about the situation at Ohio State and how he has a chance to fit in and be a special player there. He is supposed to talk to Urban Meyer today (Thursday) about planning a visit to campus, but let's see if that happens.
- His reaction to getting the OSU offer from Tom Herman: "mindboggling" and "it was a shock to get an offer from such a prestigious program"
- Definitely wants to visit OSU this spring or summer
- He had no favorites but OSU was definitely towards the top of his list. Said he wanted to see all the schools that had interest in him before deciding but obviously that wasn't the case as he committed to UCLA before even visiting. I think he will take visits though.
- Timetable for a commitment: "if my parents feel everything is right a commitment could be on the way. I like Ohio State a lot."
- has been to Texas and Texas A&M. Had visits planned to Washington and Oregon in April
- OSU recruiting him at OLB or hybrid....some schools recruiting him at DE...he has no preference as long as he gets to "attack"...UCLA is offering him as an OLB in the 3-4
- OSU definitely more attractive with Mike Vrabel, as he has experience at the highest level and has the "know how" to teach him
- Strengths: Explosion, desire not to be stopped and get to the ball carrier; Needs to improve: staying low, tend to get high often, technique
