ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia senior receiver Terry Godwin capped his 2015 freshman season by earning MVP honors in the TaxSlayer Bowl win over Penn State.
Junior receiver Riley Ridley made his mark as a freshman with his 47-yard touchdown reception from Jacob Eason with 10 seconds remaining against Tennessee in October 2016, a forgotten highlight after the Volunteers won on a Hail Mary from Josh Dobbs to Jauan Jennings as time expired.
As for sophomore receiver Jeremiah Holloman?
Well, his freshman season consisted of only five games out of a possible 15, and his lone catch went for 7 yards in the Bulldogs' 45-14 win at Vanderbilt.
"I just had to stay humble," Holloman said. "That's all it was. I knew my time was coming, and I was going to stay humble. I hit reset and went back at it."
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Covington, Georgia, had his breakout game in last Saturday's 49-7 win over Middle Tennessee State University. Holloman caught an 11-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead, and he added a 65-yard reception late in the half that set up a 12-yard scoring pass from Jake Fromm to Riley Ridley as Georgia built a 35-7 lead.
Holloman's 65-yard catch, the longest pass play by the No. 2 Bulldogs through their 3-0 start this season, countered MTSU's only touchdown of the game.
"That was a big momentum play," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "We've talked about our vertical passing game and being able to improve that. That ball by Fromm was a really good ball, and Jeremiah made a good catch.
"It was good for us to get some vertical passing game."
Holloman enjoyed the post route but quickly admitted it could have been better "had I broken away and scored."
The former four-star signee has five receptions for 112 yards through three games, averaging 22.4 yards a catch. His receiving yardage ranks second on the team to junior Mecole Hardman, who had a quiet first year with the Bulldogs as well.
Hardman was a reserve cornerback as a freshman in 2016 but started to emerge after moving to offense last year. He capped his sophomore season with an 80-yard touchdown reception in January's 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama in the national title game.
"When Mecole first got here, he went through the same thing," Holloman said. "He kept me humble and definitely helped me a lot. There is definitely some frustration, but it's about staying humble and knowing that your time is coming. I couldn't be too high or too low in the moment.
"I just kept working and knew my time would come."
Whether Holloman can continue his momentum as the Bulldogs, 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference, return to SEC play Saturday at Missouri (3-0, 0-0) remains to be seen, but he has emerged as a deep threat, as MTSU can attest.
"We all feel like we're special in that receiver room and that we bring something different to the table," Holloman said. "We all complement each other, and we've all been making big plays. Being around Terry, Riley and Javon (Wims), I've had a chance to grow as a receiver, just picking up traits from them and being able to take it and put it into my tool bag."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.