5. Jimmy Holiday, ATH/QB
Overall Rank: 535th
Position Rank: 26th
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 190 lbs
School: Madison Central (Mississippi)
In my opinion, the reason Jimmy Holiday wasn’t rated higher than he was in the 2020 class was because analysts don’t like him as a projected quarterback. If he had played more at receiver, I think he would’ve been rated higher. As it is, he’s getting a shot at quarterback as an early enrollee at UT, and as an actual quarterback, he’s probably in the three-star range. But as an athlete and an overall play-maker, Holiday has the potential to be a star.
I’ve seen a lot of people compare Holiday to 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. And I don’t think that comparison is too far-fetched.
Coming out of high school, Jackson wasn’t renowned as a passer. He had a powerful arm and made some good throws and plays through the air, but he was most dangerous on the run. In 16 recorded games on MaxPreps, Jackson completed just 47.1 percent of his passes for 2,263 yards, 31 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while running for 1,624 yards and 22 scores as a junior and senior.
Jackson was a three-star prospect on the 247Sports Composite rankings, and he was timed running a 4.79-second 40-yard dash (though he claims to have run a 4.34-second 40 in college). Holiday is rated about the same, but his measureables and stats are actually more impressive than Jackson coming out of high school.
Holiday was laser-timed running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at a regional camp for Nike’s The Opening back in March of 2019, and he showed off a 34.7-inch vertical leap as well. He also ran the shuttle drill in 4.40 seconds.
As a senior, Holiday completed 63.5 percent of his 148 pass attempts for 1,020 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions while running for 1,401 yards and 21 touchdowns on 162 carries according to MaxPreps. In three years at Madison Central, Holiday threw for 3,507 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while completing 58.8 percent of his passes and ran for 3,568 yards and 51 touchdowns.
It’s clear from watching Holiday’s film that he still has work to do as a quarterback, and he has plenty of improvement to make if he wants to work as a passer in college. But Holiday’s athleticism can’t be denied, and his speed and shiftiness separate him from anyone else in Tennessee’s QB room and probably from almost anyone else on the Vols’ entire roster.
