I look at athletes in all sports and try to picture what kind of football player they’d be, what position they’d play and so on.

Holtz is describing a coach’s habit of “translating” athletic traits across sports. By watching basketball, baseball, track, or other competitions, he imagines how an athlete’s speed, balance, toughness, vision, and decision-making might map onto football roles and schemes. The remark reflects a scouting mindset: talent identification is partly an act of informed imagination, not just measuring height and weight. It also suggests Holtz’s broader coaching philosophy—seeing football as a composite game that rewards diverse skill sets, and valuing multi-sport athleticism as a predictor of adaptability and competitive instincts.