W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
After spending some time with four-star linebacker Dax Hollifield Sunday and speaking to several sources following his visit for the Spurs Up Day Saturday, I feel comfortable saying that South Carolina is in the best position with the big-time linebacker target.
The Spurs Up Day visit really couldn't have gone much better as Hollifield enjoyed the scavenger hunt and food aspects of the trip, but really enjoyed getting to know inside linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler on a deeper level. Hutzler was with Hollifield for the entirety of his trip as the two spent plenty of one-on-one time together. Meeting Hutzler's family was also a hit for Hollifield who likes that Hutzler is a coach who can be aggressive and push him on the field, but is a family man off the field.
Hollifield is not set on a decision time frame yet, but as I've mentioned before, it feels like his recruitment is starting to wind down. Hollifield admitted to me there's part of him that wants to take official visits, but there's also a draw towards the idea of deciding before his senior year.
South Carolina and Virginia Tech are the two schools that have been in the best position for Hollifield with North Carolina also in the conversation. I've also learned that you can add Florida in as a bit of a dark horse. I don't think he ultimately ends up in Gainesville, but he does like those guys more than originally thought.
What will Hollifield's decision ultimately come to? He makes no apologies about the fact that he just simply wants to play and there's no question Carolina provides that opportunity and has hammered home the depth chart situation on his visits. The relationship with Hutzler is there too obviously and the location is at the very least a checkmark for Carolina too. If Hollifield's recruitment extends out into the season, then I also believe he'll take a long, hard look at how the Gamecocks perform on the field because he wants to win too.
The lone visit Hollifield has set up right now is a May 19 trip to Stanford. He said if South Carolina, VT or UNC invite him to some type of event, he'll probably go, but there's nothing else on the books right now.
The Spurs Up Day visit really couldn't have gone much better as Hollifield enjoyed the scavenger hunt and food aspects of the trip, but really enjoyed getting to know inside linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler on a deeper level. Hutzler was with Hollifield for the entirety of his trip as the two spent plenty of one-on-one time together. Meeting Hutzler's family was also a hit for Hollifield who likes that Hutzler is a coach who can be aggressive and push him on the field, but is a family man off the field.
Hollifield is not set on a decision time frame yet, but as I've mentioned before, it feels like his recruitment is starting to wind down. Hollifield admitted to me there's part of him that wants to take official visits, but there's also a draw towards the idea of deciding before his senior year.
South Carolina and Virginia Tech are the two schools that have been in the best position for Hollifield with North Carolina also in the conversation. I've also learned that you can add Florida in as a bit of a dark horse. I don't think he ultimately ends up in Gainesville, but he does like those guys more than originally thought.
What will Hollifield's decision ultimately come to? He makes no apologies about the fact that he just simply wants to play and there's no question Carolina provides that opportunity and has hammered home the depth chart situation on his visits. The relationship with Hutzler is there too obviously and the location is at the very least a checkmark for Carolina too. If Hollifield's recruitment extends out into the season, then I also believe he'll take a long, hard look at how the Gamecocks perform on the field because he wants to win too.
The lone visit Hollifield has set up right now is a May 19 trip to Stanford. He said if South Carolina, VT or UNC invite him to some type of event, he'll probably go, but there's nothing else on the books right now.
