An Unsung Hero
December 15, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Andrea Hollis is True Maroon and a key behind-the-scenes piece for the Bulldogs.
STARKVILLE – Before he was a Mississippi State Bulldog, Jaden Walley was just a high schooler looking for a place to call his collegiate home.
It's typically an exciting time for a highly-sought-after football player when he gets the chance to visit a prospective school. Make no mistake though, it can be a bit stressful as well.
Walley remembers one of the individuals that took some of the anxiety away. MSU Director of On-Campus Recruiting Andrea Hollis was front and center in the recruitment of Walley, as she is with virtually all Mississippi State prospects. Now, a few years later, Walley easily admits the impact Hollis had on his decision-making process.
"She was one of the people that made Mississippi State feel more like family and showed the family environment that's here," Walley said of Hollis. "With my parents, she helped them feel more comfortable. Since I was the first kid in my family to go to college, she helped them feel more comfortable about me being here without anyone having to worry."
Walley of course ultimately chose to come put on the Maroon and White and be a Bulldog. On Wednesday, some two years after Walley signed with MSU, a new group of players inked with Mississippi State as part of National Signing Day. Many of the new Dawgs were almost certainly first given a taste of home in Starkville courtesy of Hollis, one of Mississippi State football's unsung heroes.
Keeps It Running
Head football coach Mike Leach's Chief of Staff, Dave Emerick, describes Hollis this way:
"She keeps everything running," Emerick said. "Official visit weekends, they run like a well-oiled machine because of everything she does. She sets them up. She handles the logistics of it all – the hotels, the flights, the meals, the buses, the cars – she sets it all up. And there's so many moving parts to keep together. That's a big thing throughout the year is just constantly working on official and unofficial visits. It's just a huge part of the recruiting efforts we do."
Director of Football Recruiting Matt Dudek, it's your turn:
"There's a bunch of different parts of recruiting," Dudek said. "There's the initial find. Then there's the evaluation. Then it gets into the actual recruitment. Once you identify a player and determine he's good enough or whatever the case may be, it really falls into [Hollis'] bucket. A vital part of everything we do goes to her desk. From the moment we make the first phone call, to the mailings that leave her desk and go out, to scheduling every aspect and every minute while [a prospect is] here unofficially or officially, gameday visits, all the moving parts of that piece when guys are coming from all over the country to come to a game and when to show up and how to show up and who's going to talk to them. It's everything. Every [school] has someone with that title [Director of On-Campus Recruiting] and that title has a bunch of different responsibilities and those kinds of things, but it's truly that. When a kid comes to our campus or there's some type of communication with a recruit, it's certainly with Andrea. It starts with her."
Hollis herself takes it all a step further. She does all the above, but her role isn't merely planning and details and logistics. It's much more personal than that.
"Once they're ready to come on campus, that's when we get involved," Hollis said. "From the initial gathering of the transcripts, getting all their information in our system, getting everything up to date, setting up gameday visits if they're coming – we're leading that communication with them and getting all the information they need to them. We're in constant communication with them, which helps when they do come on campus because you already have that relationship with them. Obviously when it gets to official visit time, we're best buds at that point because we were with them through the whole process leading up to an official visit. Then when they get here, it's about the coordination of everything with their family, getting information to them and building that relationship with them. Because that's what recruiting is all about. It's building those relationships, not only with the kid, but with their coaches, with their mentors, their parents, their families and whoever is important to them. It really gets down to what's important to the recruit."
And who better to build those relationships and answer questions and make recruits and their families feel at ease than Hollis – someone that's basically been a Bulldog for life.
True Maroon
Hollis' love for Mississippi State began long before she drew a paycheck at the school.
"I've been true maroon since I was a little tot – coming to games and just being with family," Hollis said. "I've bled maroon for a while."
Hollis is a Mississippi native and went to Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood. When it came time to pick her college, there was no doubt.
"I never wavered," Hollis said with a smile that's consistently on her face – yet another reason she's so good at what she does. "I committed and signed my paperwork. I was 100 percent committed for sure."
What Hollis wasn't committed to though was football. She was coming to Starkville to become an accountant.
Hollis majored in business management. She'd later also get a master's degree in business administration.
But how did she end up helping the Bulldogs attract top talent on the football field?
"{MSU associate head coach] Tony Hughes and my dad are really good friends," Hollis explained. "So, I started working in the football office and just helping and just really fell in love with it. I was like, 'Oh, these accounting classes are really pretty hard." So, it kind of worked out from that standpoint. I just fell in love, and it worked itself out."
Hollis' role increased with time. She went from just helping out, to graduate assistant, to full-time recruiting specialist, to her current role. She's now worked with three different coaching staffs, underscoring her talent, her commitment to Mississippi State and just how much pride she takes in being a Bulldog. She's able to share her own love for MSU with every recruit that she impacts.
"I think it helps from the standpoint that I can share my experience with families," Hollis said. "I have that firsthand experience. I was in business, which a lot of our guys are interested in when they come on campus. So, I'm able to take them through the building at McCool Hall. I'm able to share my firsthand experience of me sitting in these classrooms doing the work that needs to be done. It definitely helps from that regard. Sometimes that firsthand experience gives families that comfort that I've been through it. I've been here. I've sat in those same seats they're going to sit in."
There is no substitute for someone who's been through it – someone who has lived it. When it comes to being a Bulldog, Hollis has and continues to live it.
"She's a proud Bulldog," Dudek said. "She's a proud Bulldog that wants what's best for her school. She really treats these young men and these recruits as part of the Bulldog family. She wants to make this university better."
Enjoying The Fruits
In Hollis' never-know-what-each-day-holds job, she can pretty quickly identify what parts she loves the most.
"It's not so much the paperwork we have to do; that's probably the least favorite," Hollis said. "But just when those kids come on campus and building those relationships. These past two weekends with official visits, it's just been so much fun seeing all of our hard work rewarded. Sending emails making sure gates are unlocked at the stadium when we need it. Getting bus contracts and getting everything together. Actually getting everyone on campus, everybody having a great time and seeing those smiles.
"Then obviously signing day when we see that paperwork come through. It leads you back to a few weekends ago, we just had this person and mom and aunt on campus, and they had a great time. Those late-night socials and playing Uno or playing cards at night. All that was worth it. I'd definitely say that's the most rewarding part of it is getting to see the culmination of all of our hard work from the identification part of it, all the way to their paperwork coming through on our computers [on signing day]. Even past that, once they get here and excel and do well, then seeing them go on and do great things after that. It definitely brings joy to all of us for sure."
If you sense love and emotion in Hollis' words, it's because it's very much there.
"She cares about these boys," Dudek said. "These are nephews and sons and little brothers to her. That's where she gets her most joy – when she sees one of these guys score a touchdown or make a play. We've had conversations where it was, 'Oh man, I remember when he was on his visit in high school and he was just a little puppy then and now look at him.' It's really awesome to have someone that's been here, that understands the culture, that understands what Mississippi State football is all about. Then you can draw from that. That's value. It's great."
She's Vital
In Dudek's area upstairs at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Campus, it's posted on the wall: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
You certainly won't find Hollis seeking out any praise. She simply does her job. For Hollis, she seemingly adheres to the philosophy preached by many coaches throughout time. It's more about the name on the front of the jersey than the name on the back.
Well for Hollis, there of course isn't a jersey. But all that she does – and it's more than could ever fit into one written piece – is done for the betterment of Mississippi State.
She's special.
"I've done this 15 years so at this point you kind of have an idea what you're getting into," Dudek said. "When you sit down with someone and they're good, especially at her level, you know pretty quick. Especially when I'm coming with a different background of ideas from other places. She's like, 'OK, here's why that will work', or, 'Here's why that might not work.' And she has the thoughtfulness to be willing to try things, but also be honest and upfront going, 'Hey, we do it this way because of this.' It's pretty incredible."
To use recruiting lingo, Hollis is a five-star performer. All Bulldogs agree.
Perhaps it's Emerick who offers the highest compliment of all that shows what Hollis means to Mississippi State – not by what he says, but what he doesn't.
"I'm not going to say too many good things because we want to hang onto her," Emerick quips. "We don't want too many people to read this. But yes, she's awesome and she's vital to what we're doing. We're fortunate to have her."
