Jevon Holland – November 15, 2021
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Monday, November 15, 2021
S Jevon Holland
(I was talking to Head Coach Brian Flores about your maturity level and he said you are mature beyond your years. What are you, 21 years old? Where do you think that comes from? At what point do you feel like you had to mature?) – “In life or just in football?”
(In life.) – “I would have to say it’s my parents, really, giving me leeway to grow up, take care of my sister and drive her to school. Little things like that kind of pushed me forward to grow up quicker than I am. Then having my brother, he’s four years older than me, he’s close in age. Close enough to where I can learn from him and his mistakes and the things that he does good and then far enough where I can correct them myself or avoid something. Same thing in football with my brother also. That’s basically it.”
(What are some of the things you think you have shown for Head Coach Brian Flores to have that opinion of you in such a short time?) – “Maturity level? Just being confident back there. Speaking loudly, communicating with my teammates and things like that. Simple things. Nothing crazy.”
(When you were in London and Maurice Jones-Drew was there and he gave a shoutout to you in the pregame referring to you as a little brother. Didn’t he coach you in high school?) – “Yeah, KT – “Kenyon Training” was my seven-on-seven team. He was a coach on that team. He basically took me under his wing, taught me a whole bunch of stuff along with a lot of other coaches over there, but he was probably one of the main ones. But yeah, he’s a good guy.”
(You don’t see many former NFL Pro Bowlers. It’s probably pretty cool to learn from them. What are some things that stuck out about Maurice Jones-Drew from early on?) – “Really just his knowledge of the game and how important it is to have a knowledge of the game. That’s really what it was. For me it was like, ‘Man, that’s Maurice Jones-Drew’ because I watched him growing up. I was really just trying to absorb all of the knowledge that he’d give me about whatever position, whatever situation because there are like 2,000 things that happen in football but a coach can only tell you like 200.”
(Your dad played football. Have you had a chance to ever watch the old CFL footage? Any of the interceptions? I’m wondering how you think your ball skills compare to his?) – “My ball skills are way better than my dad’s, by far. (laughter) I played receiver in high school. I lowkey went crazy in high school at receiver. (laughter) Nah, his finger is cut off too so he really couldn’t play receiver. I’ve seen some of his old tapes and whatnot, he was balling. But yeah, my ball skills.”
(Growing up in Canada, obviously you moved to Oakland when you were around eight. How much do you remember from Canada?) – “I remember quite a bit. I’ve got fond memories, friends up there playing soccer and whatnot. Where I lived, how to get to school and things like that.”
(How’d you end up from wide receiver to safety?) – “My dad played DB, my brother played DB so, I was trained to play DB also, but I wanted to play receiver and my dad wanted me to play quarterback. I was learning offenses and things like that and I was like, ‘Nah, I’m playing receiver freshman year of high school.’ So, I played receiver and my dad was like you got to play defense too, so I played safety. I’ve always been the guy to be back deep if we are playing out in the street or something like that. That’s basically how I ended up playing safety. Then I just got better and better at safety and receiver, but I chose safety because teams wanted me more for safety.”
(Was it coming out of high school or in 2020 last year when you opted out, where Mario Cristobal told you to get ready to play come receiver?) – “It was both. When I came out of high school, it was more Coach (Marcus) Arroyo. He’s the head coach at UNLV right now. He told me ‘Yo, get ready to play some receiver.’ Then last year, Coach Cristobal told me.”
(You were still going to be a defensive back, just get some offensive snaps?) – “Yup.”
(So you never got a chance to catch a ball in college?) – “No.”
(How does your first half of your rookie season compare with your expectations?) – “They’re by far better than what my expectations were. I really just wanted to help the team in any way. That was my goal. Once plays started coming to me where technique meets opportunity, like ‘Coach G.A.’ (Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander) says, splash plays happen. That’s what I’m trying to replicate every week, make sure I’m prepared, over-prepare, so that when I go out there I play free, empty-minded and just go out there and react.”
(So WR ‘Hollywood’ (Marquise) Brown is nicknamed after the Florida, Hollywood. What is the origin of your nickname and is that something you have to live up to?) – “My dad’s nickname was Hollywood when he was in the CFL and in college, and a couple of his friends started calling me Hollywood too. I just put the 2.0 behind it because obviously my dad is 1.0. I just put that on my Instagram. It’s been my Instagram for like four or five years now, so people start calling me it. That was basically it.”
(Have you ever gone to Hollywood, California?) – “Yeah, plenty of times.”
(How did he get the nickname?) – “That’s just the way he played. He had blonde hair, flashy. DB. (laughter)”
(Is your father a role model for you that he helps you during the start of your NFL career or do you have someone else that you talk to that helps you maintain your head on your shoulders?) – “It’s definitely my dad and my brother. They’re like my two. Those are my role models all my life. My dad played in the league, my brother was four years older than me, getting the opportunity to play in the league. I was basically just following their tracks. That’s what got me here, really. My dad is a trainer and everything too.”
(How do you compare the feeling of an interception versus a sack?) – “At one point, it’s just like blind excitement, really. That’s all I can really say. An interception is like the best thing because I’m a DB. But nah, a sack is kind of new for me. But I enjoy it though. I really do.”
(You answered this when you first got drafted but how tough was it to opt out of that 2020 season?) – “It was difficult, definitely.”
(Where were you and what were you doing during the time? I know you were training but what else were you spending your time doing?) – “It was difficult, like I said. I stepped away from the game for the first time in a long time. My teammates, I wanted to play with them. They went back-to-back Pac-12 Championships so that was dope. I was training and playing video games and watching anime. That was basically what I was doing the whole time.”
(I read some articles in the Vancouver newspaper and the Edmonton newspaper. They’re very excited about your success. They’re claiming you.) – “They should. I was born there. (laughter) Shout out to them. Shout out to y’all.”
(I wanted to ask you a question about Canada relative to you still hear form folks in Canada. Are you aware of how closely they’re still following you?) – “I’ve gotten more familiar with how close they are following me, but really I just talk to family friends that are from there. Sometimes on Facebook. I get messages from on Instagram from people too. That’s basically it.”
(Lacrosse and soccer as a kid but no hockey?) – “Lacrosse, yeah. But no hockey. I tried to play hockey. I fell like one time and I was done. I was like nah, that’s not it. (laughter)”
(When did you stop playing soccer? When did you make that change?) – “I stopped playing soccer in like third or fourth grade. One day I was at practice and the kids were juggling the ball and I was like what is your record? They were like 115 (juggles). I was like nah, this is not for me. I only got like 15 and I would lose a ball. (laughter) I was like nah, y’all too good so I stopped.”
(Talking about Canada, do you watch their soccer team now with all the stars that they have?) – “I haven’t been able to tap in. I really have not but I heard that they’re pretty good. I might have to go up there and check them out.”
(Did you blitz much at Oregon and what was the key moment where Head Coach Brian Flores or anyone else identified this?) – “I didn’t blitz that much at Oregon. Maybe like three or four times. Honestly, I’m not really sure. It was just like one of the times me and Brandon (Jones) in practice switched on a blitz where he was supposed to go but I went and then I don’t know. You’ll have to ask coach that. That’s not really a question I can answer.”
