Passing the Test: DeAndre Hollins Turns Defensive Knowledge into Performance

Hollins had a strong debut at cornerback for the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Nell Redmond | USA TODAY Sports

Before DeAndre Hollins had an opportunity to shine for North Carolina on a Saturday, he had established himself as a Friday superstar for the Tar Heels in the classroom.

“I give them a test on Fridays,” defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. “When he turns his test in, every week, it’s the best.”

Whoa, whoa — a test? On football? Reporters assembled for Carolina’s weekly press conference were confused.

“You know how in college you get a test,” Bateman said, smiling. “So, it has questions, you have to answer it.”

Fair enough.

Indeed, Bateman assigns his defensive backs a test every week, generally featuring six to eight short-answer questions about the opposing offense, their formations and how the Tar Heels are to handle certain motions and situations.

“I feel like you shouldn’t get anything on the test wrong unless you make a short check mistake that’s not really a big deal,” Hollins said. Once a test gets in front of you, you’ve got to be confident about that itself because, if they (the coaches) don’t trust that you know your stuff, they’re not going to put you in the game.”

Hollins was performing so well on the tests that Bateman started thinking through ways he could get him more involved in the gameplan. Problem was, nickelback was the only spot that Carolina didn’t have a need in a banged-up secondary, as Dominique Ross has been excellent since largely taking over that role.

Definitely could use him at corner, but would that be too much of a shift after Hollins, who arrived at Carolina in 2017 as a three-star corner, switched to the nickel role?

It was worth a shot, so two weeks ago, Bateman approached cornerbacks coach Dre Bly about fast-tracking Hollins back into his old spot, focusing him at the less-complicated boundary corner.

Re-learning his old position meant going from primarily covering an area or slot receiver and getting ready to be on an island on the outside, matched up one-on-one with a deep threat.

It also meant improving one thing that had been lacking in his game all season.

“I said, ‘I want to play you but you haven’t practiced great on Wednesdays,’” Bateman said. “He comes out on Tuesday, he practices great. Wednesday, hasn’t been as locked in and as energetic as I want him to be.”

That changed last week, when after a Sunday challenge from Bateman, Hollins changed up his routine on Wednesday, blasting music all morning and coming in fired up for what was his best Wednesday practice of the season.

“I said look, ‘We’re going to need you sooner than later, you are a very talented kid who is really smart, I need you to prepare in practice like you’re going to be the starter,’” Bateman said.

Those words turned out to be prescient, as early in Saturday’s victory over Duke, cornerback Storm Duck went down — the third time a starter has been lost this season — and Bateman called Hollins’ number.

I knew he knew what to do, but knowing what to do and going out in front of that many people is different,” Bateman said. “So, I looked right at him, I said, ‘Here you go my man.’”

Given his performance on the field and in the classroom, Hollins didn’t have any doubts when he headed out to take over Duck.

“I was pretty confident,” Hollins said. “I just felt real confident going into the game, so when I saw Storm, I immediately jumped up and I was like, ‘I got you, bro,’ and then did what I had to do.”

Hollins did his job, finishing with five tackles and breaking up one pass. Duke didn’t have any success specifically targeting him, and the Blue Devils’ only passing touchdown of the day wasn’t his assignment.

Admittedly, things worked out a little better than Carolina coach Mack Brown could have hoped for.

“What Dre Bly and Jay Bateman did with DeAndre Hollins on Saturday was unbelievable; I’ve never seen that,” Brown said. “I’ve never seen a guy that’s never played there, they said, ‘OK, come on, we’re alright; we’re alright.’ I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know that we are.’ They put him in positions to make plays and he did a good job.”

Suddenly, things are looking up for Carolina in the secondary. With Hollins proving himself as a capable player in the rotation and the potential returns of Duck and Trey Morrison, the Tar Heels might just be developing enough depth to get those guys the occasional break.

Regardless of where they need him, Hollins is ready for the challenge.

“I’m just ready for whenever my number is called, going out there and doing what I’ve got to do,” he said. “If that’s at nickel, if that’s at safety, if it’s at corner, I’m willing to step up, learn it and get it done.”

And after passing with flying colors vs. Duke, Bateman couldn’t be more proud.

“What a great story, right? Man, I love that kid,” he said. “For him to go out there and play the way he did that’s a gratifying moment. That was awesome. He’s going to be a really good player going forward for us.”