T.J. Hollowell

T.J. Hollowell spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach for the Husker football program in 2023 and 2024. He assisted the coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball, working extensively with the linebackers.

 

Hollowell helped the Huskers rank in the top 20 nationally in rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense in each of his two seasons. Nebraska was one of only four teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in each of those three defensive categories in both 2023 and 2024.

Hollowell spent three years with the Husker football program overall, as he served as an intern in 2010. In that role, he assisted the coaching staff and the Husker strength and conditioning staff.

While working with the defense that season, Hollowell helped linebacker Lavonte David earn the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker-of-the-Year award, while Alfonzo Dennard was named the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. David also earned first-team All-America honors. Overall, Nebraska ranked 18th nationally in pass defense last season, and the Huskers held six of their 13 opponents to two touchdowns or less, including holding three opponents to single digits.

A former starter for the Blackshirts, Hollowell signed with the New York Giants as a free agent in 2004 and spent two seasons in the NFL. He played for the New York Giants in 2004 and the New York Jets in 2005, while also spending two training camps with the Denver Broncos. He also spent parts of two years in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos.

Hollowell played four seasons at Nebraska from 2000 to 2003, totaling 173 career tackles in helping the Huskers to four bowl games, including the BCS National Championship Game in 2001. As a senior, he earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 recognition from the league coaches and the AP, totaling 80 stops, including eight tackles for losses. He tied Nebraska’s school record with eight pass breakups and was part of a defense that forced a school-record 47 turnovers.

A native of Copperas Cove, Texas, Hollowell received his degree in sociology from Nebraska in 2009.