Jeff Holland’s first year on the Plains, by his own admission, wasn’t the smoothest transition.
The linebacker struggled to adjust to the college level after coming to Auburn from Trinity Christian High School in Jacksonville, Florida, and he compounded that by not doing the things he needed to do off the field.
“I just gotta study my plays,” Holland said. “The technique, I mean, high school football is different, because everybody’s good at this level, so you just got to study what you do. It’s just studying, being more focused.”
It resulted in a rough freshman year for Holland, who recorded only 13 tackles and a single sack in 2015. The lackluster season rubbed him the wrong way, so he’s determined to fix that in 2016.
“(Last season) just put a chip on my shoulder,” Holland said. “I was told I had to take the game more seriously. I guess I didn’t take it seriously, and now I’m just in my playbook. I’m trying to be great, trying to get better as a player, and the small things.”
With the departure of linebackers Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy, Holland will be among the first in the rotation under new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who loves what his qualities on the field provide.
“He likes to rush the passer, and he’s got a skill set that allows him to do that,” Steele said. “He’s got quickness, explosion, he’s got good use of his hands. He runs relatively good for a guy in that position, and he likes to play, he enjoys playing. He has fun out there in practice.”
The change in his philosophy stems from a fellow teammate on the defense: Carl Lawson, whose off-field preparation has rubbed off on Holland.
“Just work. He studies the game, he’s a student of the game,” Holland said. “He studies, we watch film together, we work our hand moves. It’s just the small things. He studies the small things like the set of the tackles, he’s just a student of the game.”
At the end of the day, that’s who Holland wants to emulate.
“I’m just trying to be like Carl,” Holland said.
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