Dimitri Holloway’s confidence never dimmed.

“I felt like with what I did my senior year that someone would take notice,” the former standout James Madison linebacker said.

Nearly 12 months removed from playing for the last time as a member of the Dukes in their FCS championship game loss to North Dakota State, Holloway finally knows where his pro football career will start.

Earlier this week, Holloway signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League. He said Ottawa general manager Marcel Desjardins initially reached out through Twitter to gauge Holloway’s interest.

“It was different,” Holloway said. “But I was glad someone saw the work I put in while I was in school. I did have a few [National Football League] teams that had reached out pre-draft, but nothing other than that, so it was a good feeling to know there was someone out there watching me.”

Regularly, scouts from the NFL and the CFL attend college games and sit in the press box to put eyes on prospects.

Holloway said he isn’t sure whether or not Desjardins or anyone from Ottawa has ever seen the Dukes in person, but Holloway is positive Desjardins did his research prior to contacting the ex-JMU captain.

Last fall, Holloway racked up 124 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, five pass breakups and three fumble recoveries. He was an All-American by the Associated Press and a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association choice. His 124 total tackles topped the CAA.

Ottawa has a few former CAA players listed on its current roster including past William & Mary standout wide receiver DeVonte Dedmond and former Maine standout wide receiver Micah Wright.

“[Desjardins] was very fond of how I played on the field,” Holloway, who had 329 tackles during career at JMU, said. “And he was very specific, so I knew he took interest in me the right way by the way he was talking about me.”

The timing couldn’t be better, too, according to Holloway. In the title bout, he injured his shoulder and underwent surgery in February to repair it. Holloway said he was finishing up his physical therapy and rehab around the same time Desjardins inquired about him.

More importantly, Holloway will be well beyond a year past his surgery when he suits up for the Redblacks for the first time.

Holloway said he’ll move to Ottawa in late April or early May ahead of training camp in anticipation for the Redblacks’ scheduled season-opening contest against Montreal on June 11.

“Can’t say enough good things about Dimitri Holloway,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “At the end of the day when the defense was out there on the field [in 2019], his voice was the one that carried the most weight. Ron’Dell [Carter] controlled the team a little, but Dimitri on defense. He’s just such a likable guy and has got such a great personality. Loves to play football. He’s a really good football player, really instinctive.”

Holloway said he’s already started watching game film of Ottawa’s recent seasons to get a feel for the adjustments he’ll have to make to be successful in the CFL.

The noticeable difference is the size of the field in the CFL is longer and wider than the standard NFL or college football field. NFL fields are 100 yards by 53 yards with 10-yard end zones while the CFL fields are 110 yards by 65 yards with 20-yard end zones.

“I feel like my game will translate well because I love to run sideline-to-sideline,” Holloway said. “It’s just going to be a little bit wider sidelines. It’s no big deal. I will have to get my conditioning a little bit better, but football is football at the end of the day and that’s what I tell people. I’ve still got to tackle the same way and cover people the same way, so it’s simple things I’ve got pick up on.”

Holloway joked all those games JMU matched up with New Hampshire during his time with the Dukes should help as well. New Hampshire uses an offensive system that typically sends a player in pre-snap motion, and in the CFL most offenses will have multiple wide receivers in motion ahead of the snap.

“Like it’s receivers and offensive players moving before the snap. I’m not used to that too much,” Holloway said. “That’s going to be one of the little things I’ll have to adjust to, but that shouldn’t be too hard to pick up on. It’s the simplistic things that I think are different in the CFL.”

Said Cignetti: “I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he plays football as long as he desires and then afterwards he’s probably someone who could be a really good football coach.”

Holloway is committed to at least two years in Canada, he said, and is excited about the move. He said spoke with his brother about living outside the United States since his brother is in the military and has lived away from the U.S. before. Holloway said he also plans to talk to ex-JMU quarterbacks Bryan Schor and Vad Lee, who each had their own previous stints in the CFL.

“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Holloway said. “And I’ll go out there, take advantage of it the best way I can, because that’s all I’ve been working for since I had the injury back in the championship game. Once is set my mind to what I wanted to do with my next step, I just focused on it and kept on grinding.”