Once considered a future high school basketball standout and one of the top basketball players in the country, then Thomas Holley had a problem , he stopped growing. Holley, is no longer playing on hardwood but on the gridiron.
Just a little over a year ago, Holley transferred from Christ The King High School in Brooklyn to Abraham Lincoln High School which is also located in Brooklyn. Now, Thomas Holley is considered as a five-star defensive tackle by 247sports and a four-star on ESPN.com. The amazing part is, a year ago he had no football scholarships, now he is up to 25 offers. In those offers are Alabama, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Miami (FL ) , Notre Dame , Ohio State and Penn State.
Holley, visited Penn State when the Nittany Lions took on the Michigan Wolverines which quickly turned into one of the best games in college football this season as well as in Penn State history. The seniors’ only other visit so far has been to Ohio State which took place a week after his PSU visit when the Buckeyes took on the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The five-star defensive tackle is scheduled to visit Alabama,Florida, and Notre Dame in all of the upcoming weeks, with the stiff competition that they have going up against them, can the Nittany Lions pull in one of the nations top recruits?
Early Playing Time:
One major factor that could play into the 6’4 303 pound defensive tackles decision is early playing time. Currently, the only defensive tackle that is set to graduate after this season is defensive tackle standout DaQuan Jones who is right now projected to be a second round draft pick in this years upcoming NFL Draft by CBSSports.com . On the other side of Jones is redshirt junior Kyle Baublitz who after last weeks game against Purdue announced that he would be ending his career after this season, being happy with his football career and pursuing a job as a History teacher.
That leaves two spots open, next season on the defensive line. Currently, Derek Dowrey and Austin Johnson both redshirt freshman are the front-runners to take the jobs but with a defensive that is already seeing the side-effects of the scholarship sanctions put down on the program just a year and half ago , John Butler will take all the help he can get. With that being said, it would almost be a lock for Holley to see playing time next season on the defensive line.
Playing on the defensive line will also give Holley the chance to play with one of the better defensive ends in the country in Deion Barnes who’s had a relatively quiet season after coming off a Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the only way that Holley would not be able to play with Barnes is if Barnes decides to leave early for the NFL Draft which right now would seem like a bad decision for the junior who’s draft stock has significantly dropped this season. With that being said, if Barnes returns to the caliber he played at in 2012 and Holley gets early playing time, Penn State has the chances of having one of the most potent defensive lines in all of college football.
Next season the defensive line for Penn State could look something like this
C.J Olaniyan – Thomas Holley – Austin Johnson – Deion Barnes.
Now, here is where the defensive line could get really interesting and potent. One huge possibility for the Nittany Lions is to move defensive end Anthony Zettel to a defensive tackle to take the place of Baublitz. With that the defensive line will look like:
C.J Olaniyan – Thomas Holley – Anthony Zettel – Deion Barnes.
Zettel, has already shown promise this year especially during the Michigan game where he recorded his first career interception when he picked off quarterback Devin Gardner. With converting Zettel to a defensive end and also having him pack on a good 20-30 pounds in the offseason, Penn State could have a pretty big defensive line that could apply great pressure on the quarterback.
A Team On The Rise:
Despite their record this season which is a modest 6-5, Penn State is on the rise. Arguably, with the best true-freshman quarterback in Christian Hackenberg and a top five Big Ten running back in Bill Belton , Penn State already has the offensive foundations to succeed offensively next season. That is without even mentioning the incoming recruiting class they may consist of the best group of receivers in the country that includes both WR De’Andre Thompkins and TE Mike Gieski to go along with Brandon Felder, Adam Breneman , Kyle Carter and DeSean Hamilton just to name a few. Offensively, Penn State is set for the next two-three years but what about defensively?
Penn State defensively is shakey, arguably one of the weakest parts of the Penn State this season is thankfully looking bright. Penn State already has a talented defensive end commit in Antoine White who’s size has been compared to former Nittany Lion and current Seattle Seahawk Jordan Hill. Penn State already has some key defensive players retruning next year in Anthony Zettel, C.J Olaniyan, Deion Barnes, Jordan Lucas, Mike Hull and Nyeem Wartman just to name a few. With the addition of the 2014 recruiting class, the future continues to be bright for Penn State despite the scholarship sanctions which scholarships are being slowly restored over the next few years.
Program Stability and History:
If the Jerry Sandusky scandal and sanctions have proved anything over the last two years, it’s the stability of the football program at Penn State. Holley, if he chooses to attend Penn State will not have to worry about if Penn State is going to have a bad season or if the program is going under. Penn State is almost consistently a top 40 program in the country and is often in the Top 25 which they should make a return to sometime mid-season next year. Also, with Penn State you have the history of the program and that going to Penn State almost automatically means your going to be looked at by NFL recruits weekly. Since 2000, Penn State has had 53 players drafted with about half of those being on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive history of Penn State is no history as prior to this season, Penn State constantly had a top-20 defense in college football. Penn State, usually known by they’re nickname “Linebacker U” has also had a good history of producing solid defensive ends and tackles. With Jordan Hill being drafted last year, and Deion Barnes being a top DE in the 2015 draft, Holley has the chance to start a new trend in Penn State history at the defensive line positions. Holley, who is already considered a top recruit going into college football will be able to help write the next chapter in Penn State football history along with Christian Hackenberg as Penn State seeks a return to the National spotlight.
In the end, Penn State is a major player in the Thomas Holley sweepstakes despite the presence of Alabama,Florida,Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Penn State has everything to offer to Holley including what we did not mention here but arguably the biggest part of college football decisions (at least it should be) with a world class education. To go along with early playing time, a team that is on the rise as well as program stability and history. It right now looks as though Penn State is the favorite to land the defensive tackle which will just improve Penn State’s 2014 recruiting class and team next season.
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