According to the FAU web site, Avery Holley signed today, Thursday. He will have the chance to play both basketball and football at FAU.

Thats really something. If he makes the basketball team and becomes a starter. which team's scholarship is paying for him?

The guy is light but he must be fast. Howard really likes those fast/quick players. That's Florida football.

That brings the total scholarships to 21. I believe that was all that were available. Next we see who walks on. Don't forget, Laskowski was a walk on.

He was named by the Sun-Sentinel Broward's High School Athlete of the Year

From what I've heard he's an insane athlete, but his size scared people off. I"ll try and post a link but don't know what I'm doing so may not work.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/highschool/football/broward/sfl-holley27dec27,0,5352445.story?coll=sfla-highschool -football-brow

Ely's two-sport standout is Broward's High School Athlete of the Year

"His moves and his creativity on the basketball court transferred onto his game on the football field. Athletes like him don't come around too often. He's one of the special ones." Ely football coach Greg McGirt on Avery Holley

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
Staff Writer
Posted December 27 2005

POMPANO BEACH – It doesn't matter that one is oblong, the other a sphere. Avery Holley can literally juggle a basketball and a football without missing a beat.

He says playing both sports feels natural, that he can't stick to one or the other. If the Ely standout has his way, when it comes time to play in college, he won't have to choose there, either.


But if he had to choose, if he had to pick a favorite. …

"Only one?" he asks in disbelief. "I have to pick? I can't. I honestly don't know. I just can't pick one."

In an age where more and more high school athletes are choosing to specialize in a sport, focusing their energy on one to gain a college scholarship, multi-sport stars like Holley are few and far between.

Most of the athletes who play more than one sport do so to keep their bodies in shape and train for their primary activity. But even in that regard Holley is different.

He doesn't use football season as a warm-up to basketball. Nor does he play basketball to keep his body in football form. He has become one of Broward's best in both, having already won a state title in football as a freshman on Ely's 2002 team and leading the Tigers' basketball program to the state tournament last season.

Holley and the Tigers came home without that coveted basketball championship, but he has one more chance and he's not going to let it slip away.

"Not a lot of people can say they've won two titles in two sports," he said. "It's a great motivation for me and when we lost at state last year, I said at the press conference they could quote me that we'd be back. And I'm working for that."

For his accomplishments, Holley has been named the second annual South Florida Sun-Sentinel High School Athlete of the Year. He follows another multi-sport sensation, St. Thomas Aquinas graduate Foluke Akinradewo, who earned the honor in 2004 after standout seasons in volleyball, track and basketball.

Like Akinradewo, Holley has had to find the balance between academics and the sports he loves. He credits his two coaches at Ely – football coach Greg McGirt and basketball coach Melvin Randall – with helping him. Both coaches encourage study hall sessions and neither has stressed to Holley that one sport is more important than the other.

For the past two seasons, Randall has been supporting the football team's postseason efforts while his basketball team begins practices without its standout point guard. And McGirt has been in Ely's gym many times watching Holley.

"He's extremely blessed and has a good support system around him," McGirt said. "His moves and his creativity on the basketball court transferred onto his game on the football field. Athletes like him don't come around too often. He's one of the special ones."

His talents make him essential on both sides of the ball for McGirt. The coach used Holley and his 6-foot frame to play both defensive back and wide receiver. He finished the regular season averaging 33.5 yards per catch with four touchdowns.

During basketball season this year, he was named an All-County selection after finishing as Broward's third-leading scorer with an average of 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Numbers like those mean places like Mississippi, Miami, Florida, West Virginia and Akron, among others, have had both their football and basketball staffs contact Holley.

And when they call, Holley tells them he wants to try playing both as long as he can.

"They haven't turned me down yet," he said. "I just want to keep doing both. My body is used to it and I feel like I can produce on a level in football and I feel like I can produce at the same level in basketball."

Christy Cabrera Chirinos can be reached at [email protected].

A very nice surprise indeed

Holley's an Owl

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted February 3 2006


A day after most Broward County football players signed their letters-of-intent, Ely's Avery Holley joined in, signing to play football with Florida Atlantic.

Holley, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel 2005 High School Athlete of the Year in Broward, chose FAU because it's close to home and the school will allow him to play basketball and football.

"I wanted to wait an extra day because I wanted it to be the right decision for me," Holley said. "They're going to allow me to do what I do best, and they don't have a problem with me playing both sports. They welcomed me to do that, and I feel like I can be a part of something on the rise."

Holley, who played both defensive back and wide receiver at Ely, said the Owls will likely use him on defense and special teams. FAU basketball coach Matt Doherty attended one of Holley's recent basketball games and confirmed that Holley will play basketball and football.

"He'll definitely be a part of our team," Doherty said. "He's a quick-as-lightning point guard who can pass and shoot. He's also got a great feel for the game."