Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez reacts against the Boise State Broncos in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Football
Arizona Wildcats
Playing football comes naturally to Justin who stands six-foot-three and weighs 300 pounds plus or minus a few. He benches 350 pounds and squats 500 pounds. His high school coaches teach him a lot and he appreciates them, “Coach Bene is my Head Coach and Coach Beneir is my defensive coach, I want to thank them for all they do.”
He has a pre-game ritual that begins the night before a game, “My dad always tells me, ‘see yourself making plays’ and I do that the night before game day and before the game.” Then on game day, “I put on music on the bus or locker room, clear my mind, my dad sends me a text message with final pointers and final tips. It’s just about getting focused. When I play, it’s whatever comes naturally to me.”
During Justin’s Arizona campus visit, he remembers quite clearly a moment in the weight room, “I went in there to a camp thing, they took us in the weight room. Scooby was working out hard, he works really hard.” It was quite clear that he was extremely impressed with his work ethic, and was truly inspired.
"Senior year on the rise"
Justin is going to be presented with his Adidas All-American Blue Grey jersey during the pregame of next Friday night’s high school game. According to dad Julius Holt, “Only 90 players across the country are selected to play in that game.”
There are two key athletes who caught Justin’s eye; one is Ndamukong Suh, who plays defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins. “I like the way he plays, I am not looking forward to causing problems, you need a motor non-stop, his emotion, it’s there on every play. I am an emotional person, I really don’t like to lose, video games, wrestling my sister, football games, I don’t like to lose.”
That’s a good thing Justin, Arizona fans agree!
The other athlete he pays special attention to may be a little surprising, it’s not a football player, it’s world champion boxer Floyd Meriwether. For a second there, I forgot who I was talking too, a future defensive lineman for the Arizona Wildcats! We could use one right about now. Justin uses replays of Meriwether’s fight prep as a way to gear up for his games, “I watch videos of him preparing for a fight, I watch how he prepares.”
Next: Family is where the heart is for Justin