It’s certainly a different version of Jeremiah Holloman than we saw as an early enrollee with the Bulldogs two short springs ago.
Confident, mature. Each of those adjectives perfectly describe the junior from Covington, who enters Georgia’s upcoming season as the leader of a talented, albeit inexperienced, wide receiving corps.
“I know I’ve got a lot of people depending on me and looking up to me,” Holloman said. “That just means I’ve got to push myself three times harder than before.”
Knowing Holloman, that shouldn’t be a problem.
For a player who some questioned would ever make it as an effective receiver in the SEC, Holloman has proved his worth, and then some.
After playing in just five games as a freshman with one catch, Holloman was an integral part of Georgia’s receiving corps in 2018, catching 24 passes for 418 yards and five touchdowns, including a season-long 65-yarder against Middle Tennessee.
Although he has previously lined up as an outside receiver for the Bulldogs, don’t be surprised if the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder sees a few looks at slot.
“I actually did that a couple of times, so we’ll see,” said Holloman, who, along with Tyler Simmons and Kearis Jackson, have been seen repping as members of the first team offense during practice last week.
However, as Holloman is quick to point out, Georgia’s talent pool at the position goes much deeper than that.
That includes redshirt sophomore Matt Landers and redshirt freshman Tommy Bush, a pair of 6-5 wideouts who Holloman says have personally opened his eyes.
“Matt, he’s tall, but he’s really fluid,” Holloman said. “He can create some havoc.”
Ditto for Bush.
“He’s so fast he makes good players who are fast look not so fast,” Holloman said. “He’s pretty fast.”
Holloman’s looking forward to seeing what both can do.
“They can make it tough to scheme against,” Holloman said. “Both guys can make plays. Matt is just as fast and strong. Seeing how they run and how big they are, they’re fun to watch.”
They’re not the only ones.
Holloman sees Jackson, who’s running with the first team at slot receiver, as a bigger version of Mecole Hardman.
“He’s pretty big, he’s physical,” Holloman said of Jackson. “But he’s also a fluid, good route runner.”
Head coach Kirby Smart seems to agree.
“I'm extremely excited about Kearis' work ethic. He was a guy who was really in the rotation last year, and then all of a sudden had a hamstring at camp and it kind of held him back,” Smart said. “But I'm excited to see what he does, and there's a lot of other wideouts I could say these guys are going to go out there and have--we're going to find out what they're about. We're going to see if they can go out and compete and go against the best and make plays.”
Holloman also likes what he sees in Demetris Robertson, the former Cal transfer who transferred to Georgia amidst all sorts of hype, but failed to catch a pass.
“He’s been developing great,” said Holloman, when asked about Robertson’s progress. “He’s got a full off-season of work, he knows the system better, and he’s going to be ready for the upcoming season.”