Miami's best-kept secret reminds Dolphins HC of Hall of Famer
The Dolphins have the No. 1 offense in the league, powered by Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill and run by a quirky head coach in Mike McDaniel, who patrols the sidelines in aviator sunglasses, a Breitling watch and jogger pants.
It's no wonder, then, why safety Jevon Holland has been overshadowed. He won't be the team's best-kept secret for long, though.
In Miami's destruction of the New York Jets on Black Friday, Holland did something so rare that it almost (miraculously) rendered longtime NFL play-by-play staple Al Michaels speechless.
When Jets QB Tim Boyle chucked a prayer into the East Rutherford air, Holland knew it was time to show people what he can do.
"I had to get busy. I had to, you know what I'm saying, show a little sugar or whatever like that," he said of his 99-yard interception return, per NFL.com's Nick Shook. "And I just got into the zone, man. I could smell it, and then once I made that cut, I knew I was there, and then I had to make it happen."
The stunning play with Miami up by only four at the time gave the Dolphins mojo heading into the locker room. McDaniel said the 99-yard return for a touchdown of the "Hail Mary" reminded him of Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed.
"I think Jevon's the type of player that has very high aspirations of himself, and our team knows he can be the best player on the field at any given moment," McDaniel said, per MiamiDolphins.com. "He's watched a ton of Ed Reed tape and [the 99-yard TD] was very reminiscent of Ed Reed for sure."
If Holland has even one-third of Reed in him, the second-round draft pick from the University of Oregon will have his name in the team's Ring of Excellence one day. The son of former CFL player and football coach Robert Holland has quietly become one of the top five safeties in the NFL, per Pro Football Network.
Miami's defense has quietly become one of the NFL's better defenses, ranking seventh in yards per game (305.2), and Holland is a big reason why.
"I think right now we're trending upward," Holland said. "And we're really enthusiastic about it. We're excited about it, and Vic (Fangio) is a helluva defensive coordinator. We want to make each other proud, so I think that is what the biggest difference is. We trust each other, and we're trending upward."
Holland's eye-popping 99-yard TD video is trending upward online, too, so his talents won't be a secret much longer.
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