Tennessee was able to flip one of their top targets in the early signing period on Wednesday.
Jimmy Holiday, who was previously committed to TCU, announced he will be signing with the Vols during the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday, adding to an already strong morning for Tennessee.
The 6-foot, 185-pound athlete from Mississippi is considered one of the more intriguing athletes in the 2020 cycle. He plays quarterback for Madison Central, but it’s likely he projects more as a wide receiver or some other skill position in college.
But there’s also a chance he could take a role akin to what Lynn Bowden Jr. did this past year at Kentucky where he can play wildcat quarterback and also be used in a variety of ways as an offensive weapon. It’s expected he’ll get a shot at quarterback initially with the Vols.
Right now, Holiday is just the No. 789 overall prospect and No. 46 athlete in the 2020 class per the 247Sports Composite rankings, but 247Sports hasn’t evaluated him since March of this year. That’s why his rating is currently No. 1,403 overall in the regular 247Sports rating.
On Rivals, Holiday has a 5.7 rating and is the No. 27 athlete in the 2020 class.
Holiday was timed running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at a regional camp for Nike’s The Opening back in March, and he just participated in the Alabama-Mississippi State All-Star Game over the weekend.
Watching Holiday on film is really fun. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands, and he has elite speed and acceleration. Once he gets going, good luck catching him. He can make a cut and blow by a defender, and he has really good vision and awareness as well. Holiday is a good thrower, too, and he definitely has skill as a quarterback. Consistency is the biggest issue there, but it’s clear why he wants to at least have a shot at playing quarterback.
In his senior year with Madison Central, Holiday completed 94 of his 148 passes for 1,020 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions as a quarterback while also running for 1,401 yards and 21 touchdowns in 11 games according to MaxPreps. In 38 recorded games in high school, Holiday threw for 3,507 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while racking up 3,568 rushing yards and 51 scores.
Ultimately, Holiday probably ends up at wide receiver for the Vols, but having him add some more competition at quarterback — at least for the time being — isn’t a bad thing at all.
One Response
With the 3 QBs still at UT, walk-on & former Maryland starter Kasim Hill, and Freshman Harrison Bailey coming in, I think UT has plenty of QB compitition next year already.