Elijah Esaias Holyfield (born November 30, 1997) is an American professional football running back and professional wrestler-in-training. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs. He is the son of former heavyweight world champion boxer Evander Holyfield.
 Holyfield in 2018 with the Georgia Bulldogs | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | November 30, 1997 College Park, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Woodward Academy (College Park) |
| College: | Georgia |
| Position: | Running back |
| Undrafted: | 2019 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
In November 2024, he signed with WWE's developmental promotion, NXT[1] to begin training as a professional wrestler.
Early life
editHolyfield attended high school at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA [2] and Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. As a junior, he rushed for 1,735 yards and 25 touchdowns and as a senior he rushed for 1,069 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was ranked as a 4-star recruit coming out of high school. He committed to the University of Georgia to play college football.[3]
College career
editHolyfield played in five games as a true freshman at Georgia in 2016, rushing six times for 29 yards. As a sophomore in 2017, he rushed for 293 yards on 50 carries and two touchdowns.[4] Splitting time with D'Andre Swift in 2018, Holyfield rushed for 1,018 yards on 159 carries with seven touchdowns. After the season, Holyfield decided to forgo his senior year to pursue a career in the NFL.[5][6]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+3⁄8 in (1.79 m) |
217 lb (98 kg) |
30+3⁄8 in (0.77 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.78 s | 1.64 s | 2.79 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
26 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Carolina Panthers
editFollowing the conclusion of the 2019 NFL draft, Holyfield signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2019.[9] He was waived on September 1, 2019, and was re-signed to the practice squad.[10]
Philadelphia Eagles
editAfter his contract expired with the Panthers, Holyfield was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles active roster on December 31, 2019, ahead of their wild card game against the Seahawks.[11] He was waived on September 3, 2020,[12] and re-signed to the team's practice squad three days later.[13] He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 for the team's week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[14] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 4, 2021.[15]
On August 29, 2021, Holyfield was waived by the Eagles.[16]
Cincinnati Bengals
editOn October 12, 2021, Holyfield was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad.[17]
On February 15, 2022, Holyfield signed a reserve/future contract.[18]
On July 28, 2022, he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a significant knee injury during team practice the day before.[19]
Personal life
editHe is the son of former professional boxer Evander Holyfield.[20][21][22]
References
edit- ^ @WWENXT on X https://x.com/WWENXT/status/1857468608193900726.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Elijah Holyfield, formerly at Riverside Military, commits to play for Georgia Bulldogs". gainesvilletimes.com.
- ^ "RB Elijah Holyfield, son of ex-boxing champ, commits to Georgia". ABC News. September 4, 2015.
- ^ "Elijah Holyfield more of a factor for this season's Bulldogs". timesfreepress.com. September 14, 2018.
- ^ Staff reports, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Bulldogs losing tailback Elijah Holyfield to NFL, too". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ "Georgia loses top receivers, RB Holyfield to draft". ESPN.com. January 4, 2019.
- ^ "Elijah Holyfield Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ "2019 NFL Draft Scout Elijah Holyfield College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ Strickland, Bryan (April 29, 2019). "Panthers agree to terms with four undrafted rookies". Panthers.com.
- ^ Henson, Max (September 1, 2019). "Panthers part with Torrey Smith, Elijah Holyfield, Kevon Seymour to make three waiver claims". Panthers.com.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (December 31, 2019). "Eagles sign RB Elijah Holyfield and place DE Daeshon Hall on Injured Reserve". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ Alper, Josh (September 3, 2020). "Eagles put Andre Dillard on IR, cut 12 players". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (September 6, 2020). "Eagles announce practice squad that includes QB Josh McCown". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (November 21, 2020). "Eagles elevate four players ahead of Sunday's game". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (January 4, 2021). "Eagles agree to terms with DT T.Y. McGill; sign nine players to reserve/futures deals". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (August 29, 2021). "Eagles waive 5 players". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- ^ "Trae Waynes To Reserve/Injured List, Sign Two To The Practice Squad". Bengals.com. October 12, 2021.
- ^ "Bengals Sign Nine Practice Squad Players to Offseason Roster". Bengals.com. February 15, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ "Bengals' Elijah Holyfield: Lands on IR". CBSSports.com. July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Tierney, Mike (September 19, 2014). "Boxing Is in Elijah Holyfield's Blood, but Football Is in His Future" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Emerson, Seth. "Elijah Holyfield and Monty Rice, two emerging Georgia..." The Athletic.
- ^ "Golden: Georgia RB Holyfield, just like champion dad, has been the real deal". Hookem.com.