Garnett Hollis Jr., West Virginia: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Hollis was a three-star recruit from Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tenn. in the class of 2020
West Virginia cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr. hasn’t had the season he hoped for when he transferred from Northwestern, but the redshirt senior could still hear his name called on the final day of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Garnett Hollis Jr., CB West Virginia: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt senior outside cornerback from Nashville, Tenn.
Background: Hollis was a three-star recruit from Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tenn. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 624 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 644 for On3.com. Hollis was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. He transferred from Northwestern to West Virginia for the 2024 season. Hollis lettered four times in high school and was a team captain in 2019. He finished his high school career with totals of 109 tackles, five tackles for loss, and six interceptions on defense and 86 receptions for 1,295 yards and 21 touchdowns on offense. Hollis earned All-Region and All-State honors three times. He was his team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and was the Williamson County Male Athlete of the Year as a junior. Hollis was an All-District selection three times as a member of Battle Ground Academy’s basketball team. He graduated from Northwestern in March of 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in education and social policy.
Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2023 Iowa game with an upper body injury, exited but returned to the 2024 Kansas game
Awards: N/A
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, arm length appears to meet necessary thresholds, strong build and good overall size for a corner, accurate and powerful punches in press to stall routes, hounds receivers early in press, patient operating in soft shoe press, gets in phase quickly on outside releases in man coverage, drives outside releases into the sideline, reads the quarterback’s eyes to play throwing lanes, reaccelerates quickly to match stop-and-go routes, controlled footwork helps him decelerate and change gears quickly, quick trigger on receivers at the top of the route, crowds receivers at the top of the stem on comebacks and curls, hips don’t slow transition from half-turn to forward drive, length and strength help impact the catch point, quick trigger vs. the run, comes downhill to challenge the run game, good tackling when he comes to balance, ran down Tyrone Tracy Jr. with room to spare (2023)
Cons: Penalized six times in 2023 on defense, penalized three times on special teams in 2023, high-hipped, twitchy receivers spin him around and work across his face, minor rigidness when opening hips, more reactive than instinctive, massive cushion in NW’s zone defense gave receivers too much room underneath, some instances of being stacked off the line, lack of elite speed allows some downfield separation, occasionally loses his assignment when his back is to the receiver in a half-turn, lacks elite agility to mirror and match complex routes at the top of the stem, struggles to stay attached on crossing routes, doesn’t navigate the MOF well, takes steep angles downhill, overpowered and blocked out of plays by TEs on the perimeter, inconsistent motor and stack and shed technique vs. WR stalk blocks, poor tackling form, ducks head and dives low for tackles, doesn’t finish tackles vs. wide receivers
Overview: Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy lists Hollis’ verified height and weight at 6004, 201 lbs. with 31 1/4-inch arms and 8 1/4-inch hands. He has special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. Hollis has experience working to the field and boundary in several coverage shells, including Cover 1, 2, and 4. He’s a strong defensive back who delivers accurate and powerful punches in press to re-route receivers at the line of scrimmage. Hollis patiently sits on releases in soft shoe press and quickly gets in phase on outside releases. He drives outside releases into the sideline to close throwing windows. Unfortunately, Hollis is high-hipped and lacks the footwork and fluidity to mirror twitchy athletes. His hips are rigid and create some mechanical movements when he goes to flip them. He’s more of a reactive than instinctive corner in coverage. Hollis lacks the downfield speed to prevent himself from being stacked by above-average burners. He gears up and down well to match stutter-goes and sticks with receivers at the top of the stem. The Tennessee native lacks the agility to mirror complex routes. He allows too much separation to take on a heavy workload in press man or Cover 1 in the NFL. The Northwestern transfer triggers quickly at the top of the stem to crowd receivers. He reads the quarterback’s eyes to react and attack throwing lanes. Hollis’ length and strength make an impact at the catch point. He quickly triggers downfield against the run. Hollis tackles well when he comes to balance, but he takes some steep angles downfield that put him at a disadvantage. He drops his head and dives low for tackle attempts that he often doesn’t finish. Hollis doesn’t stack and shed stalk blocks consistently despite often possessing the power advantage.
Overall, Hollis is a large, imposing cornerback with good length and footwork, but he lacks the elite athletic traits to play a diverse range of coverages. He projects as a depth piece for a defense that relies heavily on Cover 2. Hollis can take limited snaps in press man because of his physicality.
Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a Cover 2 heavy scheme
Round Projection: Late Day 3 to UDFA
Size: 6'1", 201 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 07-27-24
Updated: 11-07-24