A Moment with Lance Holtzclaw, the UW Recruit Who Calls Himself 'Showtime'
Lance Holtzclaw, an outside linebacker prospect from Arizona who answers to the nickname "Showtime," has endured a unique recruiting process so far.
He's been a traveling man, going coast to coast. From Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Holtzclaw has taken official visits to Boston College, Boise State, Oregon State, Vanderbilt and Washington.
“I have been across the country in the past three weeks,” he said with a chuckle and no exaggeration.
However, extended travel is nothing new to Holtzclaw. Originally from the Boston area, he moved to Arizona in January 2019.
His first major offer came from his original hometown when Boston College made a scholarship available to him.
Then interest in him exploded.
“It has been a whirlwind,” Holtzclaw said. “After the BC offer, I started getting phone calls from coaches across the country.”
One of the unique aspects of his recruitment is where the different programs project him. Schools such as Arizona and Oregon State look at him as a receiver.
While most prospects play both sides of the ball, most stick to comparable skill positions. Often pass rushers project as tight ends.
At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Holtzclaw is viewed by some as an outside receiver.
However, the coaching staff at Washington is recruiting him to play the outside linebacker position.
Mike Martin, Husky Maven analyst, sees a lot in common with Holtzclaw and a former Husky.
“He reminds me of Travis Feeney," Martin said. "Feeney was a strong tackler who was too quick for offensive linemen and was so fast he ran down skill-position players on broken plays.”
On his recent trip to Seattle, Holtzclaw gave glowing reviews of what he saw and experienced.
“It was awesome up there," he said. "We talked about everything, life, family, football, game film and anything else. I felt really comfortable there.”
Holtzclaw holds offers from the aforementioned programs he visited, plus from Michigan, Iowa State, Arizona and others.
He's happy with where his recruitment is at and said he's no rush. He'll make his decision once he's weighed all of the factors.
Wherever Holtzclaw ends up, that program should have an elite level athlete with the foundation to be a program-changing player. At least it won't find a player with a better nickname.