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Ben Holcomb to Bring Athleticism and Hard Work to Gophers Program
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/131232?referrer_id=
Ben Holcomb, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back from Germantown (Wisc.) High, decided to become a preferred walk-on at Minnesota last week. GopherHole.com caught up with Germantown head coach Jake Davis to learn more about his standout player.
Holcomb, who helped lead Germantown to a 7-3 mark this season, had scholarship offers from Division I-FCS programs North Dakota, Northern Iowa and Illinois State. Holcomb had 31 receptions for 728 yards (23.5 yards per reception) and nine touchdowns.
Holcomb finished 8th in the 110 meter hurdles in the WIAA D1 Track & Field State Championships after finishing sixth in the preliminaries. He helped lead Germantown to a tenth place finish in the 4 X 200 relay and was 12th in the 300 meter hurdles preliminaries.
GopherHole.com caught up with Germantown head coach Jake Davis to learn more about his standout player.
Gopher Hole: Ben had several scholarship offers, but decided to become a preferred walk-on at Minnesota. What was your reaction to his decision?
Jake Davis: I was extremely happy for him. I thought that it was a great decision for him. I think that he is the kind of player who is going to come in and work hard and end up contributing in the not so distant future. I think that he is capable of doing that. I think that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, because he want to prove that he can do it too, so I think that is good. He is going to have that fire and be ready to go.
Gopher Hole: He is about 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, right?
Jake Davis: Yes. He has room to grow a little bit, too, but we'll see depending on where he plays from them, how much weight he puts on.
Gopher Hole: What position are the Gophers looking at him playing?
Jake Davis: I think right now, safety.
Gopher Hole: That makes him a rarity being that tall, which is an advantage against bigger receivers.
Jake Davis: Absolutely. He played as a receiver for us as well and he is a big, rangy kid on both sides of the ball. He is a heck of a defensive player. He played strong safety for us as a senior. He likes to get up and hit and is a big, physical kid.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as his strengths as a player?
Jake Davis: He is an intense kid. He definitely has a knack for the game. He is football smart and he plays it well. He can cover real well and can also come up and hit. He is that true safety that you like to have, not one or the other. He does both. He was the guy we put on the line of scrimmage a lot for us and blitzed him and he came in and made big plays and he could drop back in coverage and do a good job. He is a big, physical, long-striding kid . He is one of those kids who is deceptively fast because he is so long. He doesn't look like he is moving as fast as he actually is.
Gopher Hole: What about things that he need to continue to improve like any other football player?
Jake Davis: I think that one of the things that he is going to have to continue to work on is that since he is a little bigger size, he is going to have to work on some speed. He is not slow, don't get my wrong there, but that will be a challenge. He'll have to keep going and work on that, but I definitely think that he can do it. Just fitting in, getting to the spot. Is he going to be a free safety, strong safety. Could he move down to a linebacker eventually? Trying to figure out his role.
Gopher Hole: He had offers from North Dakota, Northern Iowa and Illinois State. What other schools was he hearing from?
Jake Davis: Those were the big three, right there. He had a partial from Northern Iowa, a full from North Dakota and a partial from Illinois State. He could have had any Division II school, I think, but he wanted the bigger schools.
Gopher Hole: Did he have any other walk-on opportunities?
Jake Davis: No, he didn't actually. This was the one from the Big Ten that was looking at him. He is what you might call a "tweener" type of kid, but I definitely think that he can develop into something good.
Gopher Hole: How about your dealing with him just as a kid?
Jake Davis: Great character kid. Does a really nice job with that. He was a kid when I first took over as a head coach, I got involved with some community service stuff like snow removal for senior citizens and he was one of the first to sign up for it. He is a great student and was a captain as well.
Gopher Hole: Does he play any other sports for Germantown?
Jake Davis: He did play basketball, but he ended up stopping for the offseason to focus a little bit more on football. He is a track kid. He is a big-time hurdler for us. He does a nice job at that. He holds the record for the 300 highs and the 110's. He has been to state twice for the hurdles and will return I assuming this year.
Gopher Hole: What do you think he can bring to a program like Minnesota?
Jake Davis: Athleticism. He is definitely a very athletic kid. He is a solid guy. A kid who wants to be there and is willing to do what it takes to be part of that program.
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/131232?referrer_id=
Ben Holcomb, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back from Germantown (Wisc.) High, decided to become a preferred walk-on at Minnesota last week. GopherHole.com caught up with Germantown head coach Jake Davis to learn more about his standout player.
Holcomb, who helped lead Germantown to a 7-3 mark this season, had scholarship offers from Division I-FCS programs North Dakota, Northern Iowa and Illinois State. Holcomb had 31 receptions for 728 yards (23.5 yards per reception) and nine touchdowns.
Holcomb finished 8th in the 110 meter hurdles in the WIAA D1 Track & Field State Championships after finishing sixth in the preliminaries. He helped lead Germantown to a tenth place finish in the 4 X 200 relay and was 12th in the 300 meter hurdles preliminaries.
GopherHole.com caught up with Germantown head coach Jake Davis to learn more about his standout player.
Gopher Hole: Ben had several scholarship offers, but decided to become a preferred walk-on at Minnesota. What was your reaction to his decision?
Jake Davis: I was extremely happy for him. I thought that it was a great decision for him. I think that he is the kind of player who is going to come in and work hard and end up contributing in the not so distant future. I think that he is capable of doing that. I think that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, because he want to prove that he can do it too, so I think that is good. He is going to have that fire and be ready to go.
Gopher Hole: He is about 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, right?
Jake Davis: Yes. He has room to grow a little bit, too, but we'll see depending on where he plays from them, how much weight he puts on.
Gopher Hole: What position are the Gophers looking at him playing?
Jake Davis: I think right now, safety.
Gopher Hole: That makes him a rarity being that tall, which is an advantage against bigger receivers.
Jake Davis: Absolutely. He played as a receiver for us as well and he is a big, rangy kid on both sides of the ball. He is a heck of a defensive player. He played strong safety for us as a senior. He likes to get up and hit and is a big, physical kid.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as his strengths as a player?
Jake Davis: He is an intense kid. He definitely has a knack for the game. He is football smart and he plays it well. He can cover real well and can also come up and hit. He is that true safety that you like to have, not one or the other. He does both. He was the guy we put on the line of scrimmage a lot for us and blitzed him and he came in and made big plays and he could drop back in coverage and do a good job. He is a big, physical, long-striding kid . He is one of those kids who is deceptively fast because he is so long. He doesn't look like he is moving as fast as he actually is.
Gopher Hole: What about things that he need to continue to improve like any other football player?
Jake Davis: I think that one of the things that he is going to have to continue to work on is that since he is a little bigger size, he is going to have to work on some speed. He is not slow, don't get my wrong there, but that will be a challenge. He'll have to keep going and work on that, but I definitely think that he can do it. Just fitting in, getting to the spot. Is he going to be a free safety, strong safety. Could he move down to a linebacker eventually? Trying to figure out his role.
Gopher Hole: He had offers from North Dakota, Northern Iowa and Illinois State. What other schools was he hearing from?
Jake Davis: Those were the big three, right there. He had a partial from Northern Iowa, a full from North Dakota and a partial from Illinois State. He could have had any Division II school, I think, but he wanted the bigger schools.
Gopher Hole: Did he have any other walk-on opportunities?
Jake Davis: No, he didn't actually. This was the one from the Big Ten that was looking at him. He is what you might call a "tweener" type of kid, but I definitely think that he can develop into something good.
Gopher Hole: How about your dealing with him just as a kid?
Jake Davis: Great character kid. Does a really nice job with that. He was a kid when I first took over as a head coach, I got involved with some community service stuff like snow removal for senior citizens and he was one of the first to sign up for it. He is a great student and was a captain as well.
Gopher Hole: Does he play any other sports for Germantown?
Jake Davis: He did play basketball, but he ended up stopping for the offseason to focus a little bit more on football. He is a track kid. He is a big-time hurdler for us. He does a nice job at that. He holds the record for the 300 highs and the 110's. He has been to state twice for the hurdles and will return I assuming this year.
Gopher Hole: What do you think he can bring to a program like Minnesota?
Jake Davis: Athleticism. He is definitely a very athletic kid. He is a solid guy. A kid who wants to be there and is willing to do what it takes to be part of that program.
