One week ago, the Tar Heels were still waiting for the first commitment in their 2022 recruiting class. Now, just a week later, the team has landed two blue chip prospects and strengthened an important recruiting pipeline in the process.
Just a short time ago, 2022 4✮ CB Tayon Holloway announced his commitment to the Tar Heels via social media. Holloway chose Carolina over Florida State, Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech and will go down as yet another recruiting win for Dré Bly in the Tidewater area of Virginia.
Holloway, the No. 15 cornerback and the No. 5 player in the state of Virginia in the 2022 recruiting cycle, is preparing for his junior season at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, VA which is set to begin in late February. Last fall, as a sophomore, Holloway broke on to the scene with a tremendous campaign. He was the definition of a lockdown corner, as he was targeted just 18 times the entire season and allowed just four of those targets to be caught for 48 yards and did not allow a single touchdown the entire season. On the offensive side of the ball, he put together some of the best numbers amongst receivers in the Tidewater area, catching 59 passes for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 502 of his receiving yards coming after the catch.
His tape backs up the notion that he is a lockdown corner. Holloway’s coverage skills fit exactly what the Tar Heels want in their defensive backs and he comes from a high school system that is almost exclusively man-coverage. Holloway has the tackling ability to handle playing nickel, but he has the hips and ball skills to thrive on the outside, as well. He’s not the fastest player in terms of straight line speed, but that doesn’t seem to hinder him that much at all. This is a tremendous addition to this class for the Tar Heels.
With Holloway’s commitment, the Tar Heels now have two players committed to their 2022 class, both top ten prospects in the state of Virginia. We knew the state of Virginia was going to be an important one in this class for the Tar Heels and they are off to a tremendous start there, especially with another major target in the state, George Pettaway receiving a 247Sports crystal ball prediction yesterday from their director of recruiting and lead predictor Steve Wiltfong. The commitment moves the Tar Heels into 15th in overall rankings, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings, and third in the ACC.