NCS Senior of the Year
JEVON HOLLAND, BISHOP O'DOWD
It would be hard pressed to find a more natural athlete on a football field, and one who combines an elite work ethic with football knowledge, than senior Jevon Holland at Bishop O’Dowd.
Holland entered the year with a target on his back, having committed as a safety to the University of Oregon, but that did little to slow him down. Along the way, he earned the praise of nearly every coaching staff who got to witness the multi-faceted standout in action.
“In my 16 years as a head coach, I’m not sure I have ever seen a better cover corner than (Holland),” remarked now-former Freedom coach Kevin Hartwig, whose team beat the Dragons in late September. “He completely took away our best receiver and an entire side of the field from us. And he can also beat you on offense and special teams.”
The irony behind Hartwig’s statement is that Holland is not even a natural cornerback, having played safety until this season. Due to current personnel, and with an eye on increasing his star defensive back’s coverage skills before he headed off to the Pac-12, O’Dowd coach Napoleon Kaufman moved Holland from safety to corner this year. The move allowed the Dragons to almost entirely become worry-free on Holland’s side of the field.
The team which had to scout Holland for the game after Freedom expressed similar sentiments in regards to what they saw, both on film and on the field.
“I thought (Holland) was the best all-around player I saw up here (in Northern California) all season,” said De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh. “He stood out right away on film as someone we had to prepare for in multiple ways, and his talent on both sides of the ball was evident in his performance.”
Having moved defensive back Quinn Brinnon to quarterback, Holland’s production on offense was every bit as important, as someone Brinnon could count on in the passing game. Kaufman decided to maximize Holland’s ability to make plays.
“His hand-eye coordination is very unique, so we worked mainly on getting the ball to him deep down the field,” Kaufman commented. “From there, it was just letting him make a play on the ball in the air.”
The strategy worked well for the Dragons. Despite only 35 catches all year, Holland racked up 1,012 receiving yards, averaging nearly 30 yards per catch, and scored 12 times through the air. That established him as a threat to score nearly every time he touched the ball, which he did on an amazing one-third of his catches. But that threat also extended to special teams, for a player who rarely came off the field.
“Jevon is a fearless player, and he has great instincts, which allows him to be a phenomenal player on punt returns,” Kaufman said. “His teammates also worked hard around him on special teams, and allowed him to make plays with his ability and mindset.”
That meant a whopping five punt returns for touchdowns, for a player who probably should have never been kicked to by opponents. And the same could be said for teams who decided to throw his way when Holland was on defense.
Despite entering the season with eight interceptions in his first two varsity seasons, some teams did still try to test his side of the field. Those rare opportunities resulted in another five interceptions, plus four more pass break-ups, playing a position which was new for 2017. But like every other year since Kaufman has known Holland, he embraced that challenge and decided to thrive. His all-around performance was evident from start to finish this season, scoring in all but one game (De La Salle), and putting together a dominant all-around performance in a quarterfinal win over Acalanes, when he rarely ever left the field, hauling in four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, while adding an interception and five tackles on defense.
“Ever since I have known Jevon, since he was about 10 years old, he has been a hard worker,” Kaufman commented. “He has a great work ethic, and there are only a select few athletes I have seen that work as hard as he does. They will move him right back to safety at Oregon, where I fully expect him to have a great career.”
For now, we are pleased to honor Jevon Holland as our Prep2Prep NCS Senior of the Year.
Other players considered for this award include: Marin Catholic’s Spencer Petras and Pittsburg’s A’jae Boyd.
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