Elijah Holyfield

BIOGRAPHY

Elijah Esaias Holyfield, born on November 30, 1997, is one of the most distinguished American professional football running backs of the present time. He is renowned as a skilled free agent. Rooted in an athletic family, Holyfield is the proud son of the renowned former heavyweight world champion boxer, Evander Holyfield.

Raised in Gainesville, Georgia, Holyfield’s career in football burgeoned at the Riverside Military Academy. He later attended the Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. As an aspiring footballer during his junior year in high school, he rushed for 1,735 yards and scored a colossal 25 touchdowns. This incredible performance was followed by an equally captivating performance during his senior year where he rushed for 1,069 yards and accrued 21 touchdowns. Regarded as a 4-star recruit, he showcased his prowess in football right out of high school and committed to seeing his ability grow at the University of Georgia.

His college career began in 2016, as a true freshman at Georgia, where he played in five games that season and rushed six times resulting in a gain of 29 yards. As he transitioned into his sophomore year in 2017, he maintained his exceptional performance, rushing for 293 yards on 50 carries and two touchdowns. In 2018, he shared playing time with D’Andre Swift and managed to rush for 1,018 yards on 159 carries with seven touchdowns. With a promising career beckoning him, Holyfield decided to forgo his senior year in college to pursue a full-time career in the National Football League (NFL).

The year 2019 marked a significant milestone in Holyfield’s career as he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers on April 29, following the completion of the 2019 NFL draft. However, the NFL is a ruthless and competitive industry, and Holyfield was waived on September 1, 2019. He later found himself re-signed to the team’s practice squad.

Holyfield’s career took a surprising turn when, in the light of the expiration of his contract with the Panthers, he was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles active roster on December 31, 2019, just before their wild card game against the Seahawks. Although he was waived on September 3, 2020, he was re-signed to the Eagles’ practice squad only three days later. The Eagles then promoted him to their active roster on November 21 for the team’s week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns. After the game, Holyfield was resigned to the practice squad, but eventually signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 4, 2021.

However, on August 29, 2021, Holyfield was waived by the Eagles and later on October 12, 2021, luck smiled at him and he was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad. This was followed by another reserve/future contract signing on February 15, 2022. Regrettably, while practicing with the Eagles on July 27, 2022, Holyfield suffered a significant knee injury which led to him being placed on injured reserve the following day.

Nonetheless, despite the challenges, Holyfield’s spirit remains unbroken. Motivated by his father’s former legendary professional boxing career, his talent and determination resonates in every game that he plays. Today, even after the journey through multiple teams and the roller coaster of scale-ups and injuries, Holyfield stands his ground as a promising professional American football running back.