Were he a Christmas present, Shaquille Holland would likely be the smallest package under the tree.

East Ridge's three-way senior football standout is motivated by his diminutive dimensions, and somewhere along the way he has thought about an eight-inch stick of dynamite and the damage it would do to a towering Sequoia.

In his cleats he tops out at 5-foot-4. Deck him out in pads and the scales will hover near the 135-pound notch.

"I could sit here and talk about him for a long time," Pioneers coach Mike Martin said. "No, he isn't the biggest player in stature, but he is what every football coach wants in a player. He's tough; he's team- and goal-oriented, resilient, respectful and intelligent."

Holland has heard enough little-guy jokes to last him a lifetime, but no chip materializes on his shoulder. Ask him if he has a pillow when he climbs into his car and he'll politely reply he doesn't need one and, yes -- before you ask -- he can see over the steering wheel.

Yet he never hears Smurf jokes on the football field.

"I guess because of the way I play, people can't say much," he said. "Being small is a gift from God, and I have a big mindset. I feel I can do all things through Christ, but I don't think I have anything to prove."

Ask the folks who've seen him on the basketball court getting up high enough to hang on the rim. Or ask East Hamilton football players, against whom he returned back-to-back kickoffs covering 99 and 95 yards last year.

As a sophomore he played wide receiver. He had good hands but never caught a pass.

"I was out there for my blocking skills," he said.

This year he'll be returning kicks and punts. He'll play in the secondary and he'll show up on offense, but there's no telling where. It might be at receiver, at running back and maybe even at quarterback in a Mustang formation.

"My goals are to succeed in life, graduate from high school and play college football," Holland said. "If I don't get to play, I'll still get my college degree. This year I want to go out and play my hardest and help the team win."

He is a team player and Martin offered a prime example.

"He cramped up at Brainerd, and I mean it was from head to toe, and he was having a hard time breathing. They carried him off the field on a stretcher, loaded him in an ambulance and carted him off to the hospital," the coach said. "I saw him the next morning and the first words out of his mouth were, 'Coach, I'll be ready to go Friday night.' He wound up spending three nights in the hospital, but he played the next week."

Holland was part of an offseason renaissance at East Ridge conducted by Martin and his coaching staff and likely endorsed by the returning starters.

"The past few years when the going got tough we had some guys that quit," Martin said. "This year we worked harder in the offseason to find out early who was going to stick it out.

"Our numbers are down a little, and while I won't say it was by design, we wanted to find the guys that would hang with us. I hope it pays off. I think the roster will be 55-60 by the time the season starts, but I can tell you that our mental toughness has improved across the board."

And leading the way was that little guy who thinks big.