Blackville-Hilda football standout commits to his ‘dream school’
BLACKVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - One of our local small-town football stars is taking his talents from Blackville-Hilda High School to the SEC.
Jaquel Holman is the 10th-ranked running back in the entire state of South Carolina.
We caught up with Holman, who’s in a position to follow a dream he’s had since he was 7 years old.
Holman had offers from South Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Liberty, Old Dominion and Pittsburgh.
He didn’t receive his first offer until this past January after his first season with the Fighting Hawks.
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After this year’s GHSA realignment, there’s one Georgia school from the CSRA still in class 6A. That’s the Grovetown Warriors.
“Once I got the first one, they started rolling in from there,” said Holman.
Holman originally attended South Aiken. He made the move to transfer home, where his grandfather spent nearly 12 years as mayor.
There’s only one other place to give him the comfort of home, 50 miles down the road.
Holman committed to South Carolina, a place he fell in love with watching Jadeveon Clowney.
Holman says, “When Clowney hit that player from Michigan and his helmet came off,” was a turning point for him.
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Wins and losses can be decided by the slimmest of margins, and no one knows that better than the Lakeside football team.
“A lot of kids don’t get an opportunity to get offered from their dream school,” said Holman.
Being a small school in rural South Carolina poses challenges for recruitment. Having a player who attracts attention, like Holman, benefits his teammates who also have a wish to play at the next level.
Head Football Coach Kevin Jones said: “Sometimes he’ll go to a camp at a school that he knows he’s probably not going to go to, but he does so. So the things kids that go with him could get seen as well. He does it in a way that really kind of endears him to not only the college coaches but his teammates and helping them get seen as well when he guys come out and take a look.”
In addition to his explosive ability in the backfield, the Gamecocks are also intrigued by his skills on defense.
Holman is also a track star, winning state titles in the 100, the 200 and the 4x100 meter relay this year.
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