After two years at Wake Forest, Holland ends up at EKU

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Nathan Hutchinson

August 7, 2006

Nathan Hutchinson The Richmond Register Mon Aug 07, 2006, 04:11 AM EDT

RICHMOND — Just two days after Allan Holland verbally committed to Eastern Kentucky University, the standout Perry County Central quarterback got an unexpected offer.

And ultimately it was an offer he just couldn’t refuse.

Holland eventually ended up signing with Wake Forest, but two frustrating seasons later the highly-recruited high school quarterback finds himself where he originally intended to start his college football career.

Holland transferred to EKU earlier this year and was on the field Saturday when the Colonels opened training camp.

“That’s just part of life,” Holland said of his two seasons at Wake Forest. “Life is full of obstacles and hopefully it’s going to work out. Maybe this is where I was supposed to be.”

Holland was redshirted his first year at Wake, then spent most of the 2005 season as a little-used third-string quarterback. The Hazard native played in just one game and threw only one pass.

“That’s recruiting,” EKU coach Danny Hope said. “But, I think it ended up the way it was supposed to. He was highly recruited in high school and we got really close.”

If Holland had signed with EKU two years ago, he might have had the chance to compete for a starting spot right away. At the start of the 2004 season, the Colonels’ top two quarterbacks — Matt Guice and Adam Ellis — both went down with injuries, along with freshman Klay Koester.

That forced redshirt freshman Josh Greco into the starting lineup.

Two years later, Greco has developed into one of the most prolific passers in school history and Holland enters training camp third on the depth chart. The sophomore is expected to compete with Stephen Sizemore for the role of top backup.

“The timing of Holland’s transfer was extremely fortunate,” Hope said. “We had moved Zach Denton to safety and we were in a situation where we had Greco and Sizemore and third guy was going to be a freshman.”

Holland, who threw for more than 7,000 yards and 76 touchdowns at Perry County Central, is glad to be back in his home state and is eager for an opportunity to compete for playing time.

“I’m back in the Bluegrass and I’m ready to go,” Holland said.

Officials make an appearance

To help his team adjust to several rule changes, Hope had officials on the field for team drills Saturday during the opening practice of training camp.

In an effort to shorten games, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made several chances earlier this year, most notably starting the clock more quickly after first downs and on free kicks.

The on-field officials gave the Colonels their first opportunity to operate under the new rules and Hope says the changes will be emphasized throughout camp and practice leading up to the Sept. 2 season-opener at Cincinnati.

“It’s going to shorten the game and the limit the number of plays that are run,” Hope said. “So execution, especially on offense, is even more important now.”

Impressive early

Hope has been extremely impressed with the performance of a number of first-year players through the opening weekend of practice. In particular, freshman wide receiver Chris Fulmer has caught the attention of the fourth-year coach.

“He’s a low-rep guy,” Hope said of Fulmer. “That’s apparent all ready.”

Fulmer set a national high school record with 329 career receptions at Nitro High School in Nitro, West Virginia. He is also second on the all-time receiving yardage list (5,080).

Hope has also been impressed with several freshman offensive linemen.

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After two years at Wake Forest, Holland ends up at EKU

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