FOXBORO — Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins has an unheralded but important role within the offense.
Hollins has not been as productive as fellow starters Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte, but his leadership and blocking ability have undoubtedly helped the offense.
Hollins is one of the more unique players in the NFL. He walks around barefoot, believes house cats steal your soul and posts educational videos on social media about home maintenance, automobile service and world history.
Learn more about Hollins in this week’s New Patriots installment.
Q: What’s your first football memory?
I watched Barry Sanders highlights back in the day on VHS, because I played running back when I was young.
Q: What’s your top high school football memory?
We won our homecoming game.
Q: What’s your top college football memory?
Getting a scholarship.
Q: What made UNC special for you?
It’s where I wanted to go play football. If I didn’t get a scholarship, I was going somewhere else. It was the guys. The guys were cool.
Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a football player?
Not sure—maybe out in the woods or something. In the military. I don’t know. Whatever I felt like.
Q: Did you have a favorite athlete?
No, not really. I didn’t really watch sports. It wasn’t really my thing.
Q: What did you watch growing up?
I didn’t really watch anything. I read books and played video games.
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
“The Lion King.” “John Q” is up there too.
Q: Who’s your favorite musical artist?
Frank Sinatra.
Q: Who have you been closest with on the team so far?
Probably Chis (Efton Chism). We put in a lot of work together and hang out off the field. I think definitely the receiver room. I gravitate towards those guys, and we spend a lot of time together.
Q: Have you done that in other places—bonded with a guy like Chism to watch film together?
Yeah. I always tell guys I do this, this, this, and if you want to come, you can come. Some take me up on the offer, some don’t. Chis has been all over it—he’s doing more on his own now, which is cool to see.
Q: Who’s the funniest player on the team?
It’s all relative. In the receiver room, probably Pop (DeMario Douglas) or Webby (practice squad rookie Jeremiah Webb).
Q: What do you like most about the New England region so far?
I haven’t had much time to experience it. I was gone every weekend during OTAs, and during the season there’s no free time. The fans are cool at the games when I get a chance to interact with them. I like their energy and stuff. Unfortunately I haven’t had a real chance to explore. I’ve heard it’s cool. I did a bike ride from the JFK Library to the Cape, which was cool. But wasn’t much experiencing there. It was mostly head down, churning the legs.
Q: Are you a history guy?
Not heavily. Maybe not U.S. history, a little more probably world history in general.
Q: Is there a player in the league you think is underrated or underappreciated?
I’m sure there’s plenty of special teams dudes that — just thinking, from my experience, sometimes you get stuck on special teams and people think you can’t play offense or defense. And I’m sure there’s a lot of guys like in there that are really ballers that just need an opportunity. I got a buddy that plays in Seattle, Chazz Surratt. That’s a good player who I think is waiting for an opportunity to play linebacker, go make some plays.
Q: Do you have a hidden talent?
I can juggle, but I think everyone in the room can juggle now that Kyle (Williams) checked it off the box. I think everyone can juggle now. When I think talent, you’ve got to be real good at it. Like, I’m pretty good at a lot of things, but I’m not really good at it. I’m talented at football, but I’m not talented at basketball, even though I’m pretty good at basketball and lacrosse.
Q: Lacrosse? That’s unique.
Yeah, I love lacrosse. I’d swap over there if it was bigger.
Q: Is there a topic you know more about than anyone else in the locker room?
Yeah, I’m sure I do a lot of those education-type videos. So there’s probably a lot. I did a video last week on the demon core. I’m sure I know more about that. Probably every video I’ve done, seven years worth of videos, I probably know more about that than everybody else in locker players-wise. I did some mental health videos back in the day. That’s maybe, like, the training staff and stuff might know a little bit more than me, but players-wise, probably education-based stuff. Cars, how to fix cars, how to work on cars, home maintenance. Anything that I’ve done with my videos, I probably know more just out of forced into having to do the work.
I think the answer’s everything.
Yeah, just about a little taste of everything. Maybe there’s something, maybe I don’t know more about people’s cities. General knowledge, probably know more than most of the guys.
