West Virginia Might Have Found Its Next Shutdown Corner

Garnett Hollis Jr. is on track to be a massive piece of the WVU defense.

Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

West Virginia and Garnett Hollis Jr., a match made in Almost Heaven.

The former Northwestern cornerback was very particular about where he wanted to go once he entered the transfer portal, meanwhile the WVU coaching staff had it as a top priority to go get an experienced, long corner that can help shutdown one half of the field. On February 20th, Hollis made the move to WVU official.

“I was just ready for a change. I got my degree and I kind of did everything that I wanted to in that program and for my last year I wanted to get everything I could out of college football," Hollis said about entering the portal. "Coming to West Virginia, they have the fanbase, they have the winning record, they have a lot of players coming back that were key players and they got a good culture over here. Being able to talk to coach (Jevaughn) Codlin and coach ShaDon (Brown), and Drew (Fabianich) throughout the portal they just showed the initiative that I was looking for. I wanted to feel like I was wanted. Having conversations with them every day and getting that feel for them, it only felt right.”

A big part of Hollis' decision was seeing what Beanie Bishop did in his one and only year at WVU after transferring in from Minnesota. Hollis cited that Bishop had 24 pass breakups last season while he was only targeted 37 times last season at Northwestern. Quite simply, there's just more opportunities for corners to make plays in the Big 12 than the Big Ten. The coaching staff pitched Bishop's All-American season and Hollis bought it.

“I got one year left so I’m trying to make the most out of it, I’m trying to get to the next level. So the school that I go to I need to be in a position that I can take that next step. Coach ShaDon, coach Cod, they all made me feel like I could do that. They made me feel like I can be a top round guy. They made me feel like I can come here and make plays. With Beanie’s success, they made me feel like I could make that same success. Just talking to them it felt like I had a true connection.”

Hollis even talked to Bishop a little bit before making the decision, where he raved about WVU's coaching staff, strength coach Mike Joseph, and just the overall culture that exists in Morgantown. For the cherry on top, Hollis comes to West Virginia with one of his closest friends, Jaheem Joseph, who also transferred in from Northwestern.

“It’s been a smooth transition. I feel like the players really accepted me when I first got here, so that made it a lot easier and then I also had one of my former teammates come with me as well so the transition was a lot easier than me going somewhere where I didn’t know anybody. And then on the field, I feel like we gelled from the beginning. Being able to communicate, being able to talk out schemes, talk out different things on the field that we see and that we like and don’t like. I haven’t had any problems, it’s been a smooth transition.”

Because of Hollis' length and size, it will allow West Virginia to play more press coverage than they have in years past. By season's end, this could be one of the Big 12's best transfers.

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