Dax Hollifield prepares for South Carolina official visit

Linebacker Dax Hollifield of Shelby, N.C., will continue his official tour of his top schools this weekend when he, his parents and his younger brother visit South Carolina for the Arkansas game weekend.

Hollifield has taken an official visit to Florida State. This past weekend he went unofficially to Virginia Tech for the Clemson game.

“He enjoyed that,” said Shelby High coach Lance Ware, who joined Hollifield in Blacksburg and added that the home teams that have hosted his star for visits this season are a combined 0-5. “He’s got three big weekends in a row. He’s enjoyed everywhere he’s been. He’s going to have a tough decision. They are all good schools to choose from and he has build good relationships with all the coaches including (USC’s) Coach Hutzler and Coach Muschamp. He likes a big time atmosphere and an opportunity to play early. He just needs to pick where he will be happy for four to five years.”

Hollifield has made several visits to USC for junior days, camps, practices and games. He was last in Columbia for the Kentucky game last month.

“He said the atmosphere was great,” Ware said. “That’s something that always sticks out when he visits there. Coach Hutzler scouted our South Pointe game.”

After the USC visit, Hollifield has visits set to North Carolina and Virginia Tech in consecutive weeks. He also plans to take an official to Stanford, but that won’t be until January, meaning his decision won’t come before late January. And Hollifield has not given his coach any indication of a favorite at this point.

“He has nothing but good things to say about all of them,” Ware said. “I think they are all doing their due diligence, all are recruiting him very hard and all feel like they are still in it.”

This season Hollifield has 62 total tackles with 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass break up.

Notes

▪  Defensive end Antonio Anderson of Lower Richland plans to visit NC State this Thursday night for the Wolfpack’s game with Louisville. He’s also expecting to talk again later this week with USC defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. He’s also been hearing from Appalachian State, Georgia State, Old Dominion, Charleston Southern and Eastern Kentucky. He plans to attend a game at Georgia State Oct. 26.

▪  Spring Valley linebacker Channing Tindall told Auburn247 he plans to visit Auburn Thanksgiving weekend for the Alabama game. He did not say if the visit will be official or unofficial. Tindall also picked up a Texas offer Monday.

▪  Class of 2019 quarterback Connor Bazelak (6-4 200) of Dayton, Ohio, is a pro-style quarterback who has had some contact from USC quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper. He has offers from Kentucky, Toledo and Western Michigan. He has made visits this season to Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Kentucky and Cincinnati.

▪  Class of 2020 left-handed pitcher Jackson Phipps of Dallas, Ga., committed to USC Monday night. He’s the Gamecocks’ sixth commitment for the class and third pitcher.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Dax Hollifield prepares for South Carolina official visit."