Elijah 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 | |
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.
In November 2024, he signed with WWE's developmental promotion, NXT[1] to begin training as a professional wrestler.
Early life
[edit]Holyfield 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
[edit]Holyfield 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
[edit]Following 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
[edit]After 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
[edit]On 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
[edit]He 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.