Tucker Holloway poses in his uniform for Virginia Tech football.
Andrews – Tucker Holloway is a Wildcat through and through.
Even though he left Andrews to play football for Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Georgia during his senior year, he returned in spring 2022 to graduate from Andrews High School. Leaving for Rabun Gap was more inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic than anything else.
The football season had been cancelled in North Carolina that fall, so when the chance arose to go to Rabun Gap, Holloway jumped at the opportunity. It turned out to be a good thing.
“I had always wanted to play wide receiver, but since I was the best athlete in Andrews at the time I had always been forced to play quarterback,” he said. “Going to Rabun Gap gave me the opportunity to play wide receiver.”
Holloway received an academic scholarship to attend Rabun Gap. When he got there, he was able to reclassify as a junior and play football for two years at receiver.
It was somewhat of a culture shock when he first got there.
“The only people had ever interacted with were people from western North Carolina and, you know, at Rabun Gap there is people from all over the globe,” Holloway said. “The first year I played, our entire offensive line was from Germany and our quarterback was from New York.”
After Rabun Gap, the two colleges in the mix were Virginia Tech and Iowa State. After he committed to Virginia Tech, the coaching staff got fired, so Holloway reopened his recruitment and also had offers from Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Iowa State. But the new coaching staff at Virginia Tech won him over.
The plan was to redshirt his first year, but toward the second half of the season coaches inserted Holloway into the game to return punts just to see how it would work out. It worked too well, and Holloway lost his redshirt status.
During the Georgia Tech game that year, he broke the school record with 188 yards in return yardage on seven returns and one touchdown.
Holloway is rotating in the receiver corps for the Hokies, but his claim to fame is as a punt return specialist, where he has received All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for the past two seasons.
Last season, he was sixth in the nation – and first in the ACC – in punt return averages.
Holloway injured his knee during spring workouts and is still recovering. He is working through physical therapy, and said it’s going really well. He thinks he will be ready to go this season, but admits the first part of the season is questionable.
He is receiving some name, image and likeness (NIL) money, too.
“They really do a good job of it at Virginia Tech,” Holloway said. “We have a NIL collective called Triumph NIL, and I signed a year contract with them, so I get a monthly check from them. They also provide some other opportunities.”
His most memorable moment was after that Georgia Tech game, when he got to do something he hadn’t got to do much since he left Andrews – play defense.
“I was on the kickoff team,” he said, “and on the opening kick off the Duke game I made a tackle on like the 10 yard line.”
Holloway is taking a levelheaded approach to his aspirations for the future. While he would very much like to play at the next level, he said the way he looks as it is this.
“I want to be the best I can possibly be at Virginia Tech. Ultimately, yes, I would like to go to the NFL, but for me that’s not what I think about,” Holloway said. “For me, if I do the best I possible can and I produce at Virginia Tech and do my job, the NFL is going to come.”
He believes the Hokies are going to be very good this season. If you produce on a winning team in the ACC, NFL opportunities will arise.
Holloway is majoring in human development, with a minor in health and wellness. Although he is only a junior, he is near the finish line on that degree, so he’s pretty sure he will end up with a master’s degree by the time he leaves Va. Tech.
In the future, he might like to coach or explore other opportunities in the sports field.