Holland a Lifesaver in the Secondary
September 5, 2005

Back in the heyday of the Philadelphia Flyers it was said that “Only God Saves More than Bernie Parent.”

Minus a mask, stick and goalie pads, Ashland University junior defensive back Chris Holland (Youngstown, OH/Rayen) falls into the same category.

A year ago at Gannon, in the game’s waning stages, Holland made one of the biggest saves in recent seasons. Gannon wide receiver Al Donadi hauled in a pass from quarterback Darmel Whitfield and had nothing but open field in front of him as he raced to the end zone. From the far side of the field came Holland, pedal to the medal. He caught up with Donadi at the AU 11 after a 40-yard gain for the Golden Knights.

Gannon never did reach the end zone on that drive. The Knights settled for a field goal and tied the game, 19-19. AU went on to win in overtime, 22-19.

Had Holland not made that play, Ashland would have lost its second straight game and been 1-2. It can be argued that Holland, in large part, saved the Eagles’ season from going south.

“I think they ran a jailbreak screen,” recalled the AU defensive back. “We missed a couple of tackles and I was playing backside safety. He broke it and I had to take a deep angle. I thought someone else would be there. I just remember chasing him and tackling him. I thought, ‘How did he break free? We had that play covered well actually. I was thinking, ‘This can’t be happening.”

“He let us live again,” is how AU head coach Lee Owens described the tackle. “That was as big as any play in the game.”

That was one of 11 tackles Holland had against the Golden Knights. While all the details of the stop are a bit fuzzy in Holland’s mind, the lesson from that night remains crystal clear.

“From my point of view, I thought for sure someone else would make the tackle,” said Holland. “That taught me not to assume, expect to make the tackle. I had slowed down on the play and then I had to go catch him. It makes your realize anything’s possible.”

Holland’s presence has made plenty of things possible for the Eagles over the last two seasons. He’s played safety and cornerback during his career. Whenever the Eagles have needed a hole plugged in the secondary, he’s taken on the challenge. He began last season at safety and midway through the year, moved to cornerback. The switch didn’t hurt his productivity, at least on the stat sheet. He was sixth on the team in tackles (47/33 solo) and had four pass breakups and an interception.

“When I was at safety, I was our second- or third-leading tackler,” noted Holland. “When I moved, I had probably 20 tackles the rest of the season. I didn’t complain, I knew what we needed. I used to say I was a safety playing corner. Now, I’m a cornerback.”

“He wanted to be a safety,” admitted secondary coach Steve Clinkscale. “He’d like to be a safety now, but we’re better in the secondary with him at corner. He’s willing to sacrifice being a safety for us to win a championship. Next year he can be the strong safety.

“Chris is a coach on the field,” continued Clinkscale. “He understands what I want when I want it. It’s like I’m on the field.”

No matter where he lines up, what Holland really can be described as is a hard-nosed, clutch football player. Bone-crunching tackles are his specialty and have been for a long time.

“Where I’m from, our Pop Warner league, you start off in equipment from the first time. We’ve been playing and hitting since Day 1. My dad was my coach and he built that into me. I grew up hitting hard.

“That really helped me,” continued Holland. “When he was coaching I couldn’t call Dad, ‘Dad.’ When he was on the field he was the coach. That showed me your dad wasn’t there to save you, he was there to work with you, to push you.”

Holland doesn’t need much of a nudge these days. He has his eyes set on improvement and being part of a shut-down defense.

“I think the addition of Devin (Conwell) brings a toughness back there,” said Holland of Conwell, an All-America at linebacker last year, moving to safety. “He can knock your face off. We have a real leader in (free safety) Justin Hood. He pushes you. Then you have Thaddeus (Walker) and me at cornerback. Thaddeus is our fastest guy. He can get it done and he’s just learning the game. I’m the most experienced back there and I think I can be reliable.

“A year ago we were second in run defense and 12th in pass defense,” growled Holland. “That doesn’t sit well with me. I want to be first in total defense.”

That’s not an unrealistic goal, especially from a total defensive back whose ability to save, makes sure the Eagles are never sorry.