Dwayne Hollis (born July 7, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at North Carolina Wesleyan College. He was a member of the Helsinki Roosters, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Trenton Freedom,

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

, Shanghai Skywalkers,

Atlanta Legends The Atlanta Legends were a professional American football franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one incomplete season from February 2019 to April 2019. They p ...

, Albany Empire, and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

Early life

Hollis attended Denbigh High School in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

College career

Hollis played for the North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops from 2009 to 2012 and helped the Battling Bishops to 20 wins. As a sophomore, Hollis was named First Team All-

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolin ...

as a Defensive Back. As a junior and senior, Hollis was named First Team All-

as both a kick returner and as a defensive back. Hollis was also named an All-American at defensive back by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

Professional career

Helsinki Roosters

Hollis signed with the Helsinki Roosters of

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is play ...

in 2013.

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Hollis returned to the United States in 2014 when he signed with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor F ...

. Hollis was named First Team All-League as both a defensive back and kick returner. Hollis was also named the PIFL's Special Teams Player of the Year. Hollis was the only defensive player in the PIFL to lead his team in all-purpose yardage.

Trenton Freedom

Hollis signed with the Trenton Freedom for 2015, but he placed on the other league exempt list before the season began.

Philadelphia Soul (first stint)

On October 6, 2014, Hollis was assigned to the

. On October 9, 2015, Hollis had his rookie option exercised by the Soul. Hollis was named Second Team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

following the 2016 season. Hollis helped lead the Soul to an

ArenaBowl XXIX ArenaBowl XXIX was the championship game of the 2016 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul and the National Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers. The game was played at Gila River ...

championship. Hollis was once again assigned to the Soul for the 2017 season. He earned AFL Defensive Back of the Year and First Team All-Arena honors in 2017. On August 26, 2017, the Soul beat the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

ArenaBowl XXX ArenaBowl XXX was the championship game of the 2017 Arena Football League season. The game was broadcast on AFLNow, Twitter and WPVI-TV. It was played between the Philadelphia Soul and Tampa Bay Storm at the Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center ...

by a score of 44–40.

Shanghai Skywalkers

Hollis was selected by the Shanghai Skywalkers in the third round of the

2016 CAFL Draft The 2016 CAFL season, the first season in the history of the China Arena Football League (CAFL), began on October 1, 2016. On November 6, the Beijing Lions defeated the Qingdao Clipper to win the first China Bowl. Draft The league held its ...

. He was named an All-Pro South Division All-Star. He is listed on the Skywalkers' roster for the 2018 season.

Atlanta Legends

In 2019, Hollis joined the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

Philadelphia Soul (second stint)

Hollis was placed on the league suspension list as a member of the

on March 20, 2019, after he signed with the Legends of the AAF. After the AAF suspended football operations, he was activated from league suspension by the Soul on April 6, 2019.

Albany Empire

On November 26, 2021, Hollis signed with the Albany Empire of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

(NAL). On December 5, 2022, Hollis re-signed with the Empire. On May 5, 2023, Hollis was released by the Empire.

Orlando Predators

On May 8, 2023, Hollis signed with the

of the

(NAL).

References

External links

North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Dwayne Living people 1989 births Players of American football from Newport News, Virginia American football defensive backs North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops football players Lehigh Valley Steelhawks players Trenton Freedom players Philadelphia Soul players Shanghai Skywalkers players Atlanta Legends players American expatriate sportspeople in Finland American expatriate sportspeople in China American expatriate players of American football Albany Empire (NAL) players Orlando Predators (2019–) players Vaahteraliiga players