Georgia football hopes to keep running wild in 2015 and beyond (Video)
By Matthew Hall
3. Elijah Holyfield
Elijah Holyfield (5’11, 240) out of Atlanta, GA, is a 247sports.com 4-Star running back who needs no introduction. He is the son of former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.
This family connection no doubt draws a lot of attention but the younger Holyfield is already a “champ” in his own right when it comes to a high school football gridiron. This past season as a junior, he ran the ball 264 times while compiling 1,735 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Georgia Bulldogs
Along with those majestic numbers on the ground, he added 3 more receiving touchdowns and 3 more from kick-off returns for touchdowns for a total of 31 touchdowns in 2014. If those numbers are not enough, Holyfield had a game for the ages this past season when he scored 7 touchdowns in a single game. These types of stats have prompted over 25 different schools to attempt to land the Peach State prospect including Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Tennessee among others.
Holyfield, like his father was in boxing, is very aggressive and does not mind physical contact. He is equipped with excellent balance and is very difficult for defenders to bring to the ground. The top prospect was given the title of Best Running Back by the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s awards from the Rising Seniors junior all-star game this past December and is considered by many to be the state’s best running back altogether.
Composite Rankings of 247Sports.com have him listed as the 13th overall running back and the 18th overall prospect in the state of Georgia. While being heavily recruited by many top name programs (especially the Auburn Tigers as of late), he would truly be a jewel to add to the 2016 Georgia class if he chose to play for head coach Mark Richt and company