Notre Dame offers high-rising '21 Volunteer State star

When Hayden Chandley first was introduced as new head coach of the David Crockett Pioneers football team, in tiny Jonesborough, Tennessee, he spotted the kid in the back of the press conference and figured the young man must be an outgoing senior.

Instead, it was Prince Kollie‍. He was a rising sophomore. And now, as Chandley prepares for his third season atop the helm of the Pioneers program, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Kollie is a bona fide national recruit.

Including a spate of recent offers that include Notre Dame for the native of Liberia, Africa.

“At my introductory press conference, I happened to spot Prince and saw his physique, and in the back of my mind, I’m thinking ‘This kid is probably a senior and is graduating,’” Chandley told IrishSportsDaily. “Somebody said, ‘Coach, he’s 14. He’s gonna be a sophomore.’ So he’s a kid that when he walks in the room, he catches your eye.

“Over the past year, he’s really intensified how hard he pushes himself and works out. He’s right around 200 pounds. And watching him evolve over the past two seasons, and he’s played arguably the toughest position we run, because his sophomore season he played a strong safety type of role for us. He had to make all the corrections in the back end. It was cool to watch him just start picking it up each and every week. He moved positions to start his junior year, and then a position he had not practiced, the starting middle linebacker broke his arm, game seven or eight, and he played middle linebacker for us in the biggest game of the year. He didn’t bat an eye, and did exceptionally well. He picks up things so instinctively; it just comes naturally to him. He doesn’t have to go out of his body to make plays. He’s fun to watch.”

Despite no spring football due to the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, more and more teams are watching Kollie’s film. After first gaining widespread notoriety following his performance at a Virginia Tech camp last summer and subsequent offer, Kollie has seen his profile explode in recent weeks with offers from Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida State, and, very recently, Notre Dame.

“He texted me when Notre Dame offered,” Chandley said. “I’m in the national guard at McGhee Tyson Airport (in Knoxville, Tennessee), and I got back to him a little bit late.

“It’s just a crappy situation that we’re not able to be with him every day, myself and Coach (Kevin) Ramsey, but we’re in constant communication with him, and we try to help mentor him and be there for him, with any questions he has and things like that. He’s been overwhelmed at times, and I just try to be there for him. I think we’re going to keep taking the process as it comes and then maybe start making some cuts in the near future; I think that will maybe release some stress for him. He’s only visited a handful of schools that have offered, and he’s gotten offers recently from Notre Dame, Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas and he’s never stepped foot on campus. It remains to be seen when we’re going to be able to do that, and hopefully he can get out and see some of these places. Hopefully sooner than later. And even if it’s August or September, hopefully the NCAA grants these kids more official visits and he can go see some places without any restrictions.”

Kollie, who soon is expected to trim his offer list to a preliminary group of finalists, has yet remotely approached his peak on the football field, Chandley said.

“I definitely think he’s got a lot more potential to be gained,” Chandley said. “Me and him have had conversations since his junior season ended, and we’ve talked leadership. He says, ‘Coach, I just want to lead these guys, be more vocal, be a leader.’ He was voted as a team captain as a junior, and he was the only junior team captain. I think it speaks volumes to what his teammates think about him. He reiterated he’s gotta be a better leader. And I told him, ‘Leaders lead from the front, and don’t ask teammates to do what you won’t do,’ to steal a line from Michael Jordan.”

A 1,000-yard receiver who also notched nearly 80 tackles as a junior in 2019, Kollie has displayed the type of versatility, Chandley said, that could afford him multiple position chances at the next level. Multiple schools are recruiting Kollie as a linebacker with ability to play inside or outside on the second level.

“He went to an invite-only camp at Virginia Tech and ran a laser-timed 4.62 (40-yard dash),” Chandley said. “That’s why position-wise, a lot of folks are recruiting him as a weakside linebacker, and I think he could be that.

“I think he could keep weight where it is or put some on and play a hybrid/rover outside ’backer position as well.”