Georgia Football: Elijah Holyfield will be key vs Florida

Georgia Football takes on Florida this week in a matchup that will decide who will win the SEC East and Elijah Holyfield has never been more important.

It’s taken a while to get to this point. Elijah Holyfield arrived in Athens with lots of expectations because of his famous father. It’s taken a couple of years for him to earn his playing time but that’s exactly what he’s done. Going into this week’s crucial matchup against Florida, Holyfield is the playmaker both sides seem to be focusing on this week. The Georgia Football team put out this video over the weekend centered around Holyfield and his family. It’s the first time I can remember them doing something like this for just one player.

Last week, Kirby Smart talked about how he wants to feed the running backs more. That makes sense after they didn’t get enough touches vs LSU. This video coupled with Kirby’s insights into the program makes it pretty clear that Holyfield is becoming more of a featured back right now. The Dawgs need leaders to step up in their program right now and I can’t imagine they put this video out there if Evander’s son hasn’t stepped up and become one.

But’s it’s not just Kirby Smart who is thinking about Holyfield. It wouldn’t be Florida week without the Gators players talking trash and this year, they’ve started with Holyfield. Apparently, the Florida defense has decided that they need to make a statement and so linebacker Rayshad Jackson did just that.

I can’t help but think that Dan Mullen is going to make this UGA – Gators rivalry really good while he’s in Gainsville. Not because I think he’s an amazing coach and is going to win loads of games. But because good lord, this guy just cannot stop his team from trash talking or behaving stupidly. I mean, he couldn’t stop his defensive coordinator from behaving like a baby against Vanderbilt. Can’t wait to see how they freak out next in Jacksonville!

I’ll get to the Gators later in the week. I’m sure Jackson’s comment will just be the first of many derogatory things their players say about UGA in the next few days. However, the reason I’m pointing this one out is that it shows us a couple of things about Holyfield and the Gators. Firstly, he’s already under their skin, possibly because of the touchdown he scored to ice the game against them last year. But also, and this should actually worry Florida fans, it shows that their defense does not know how to stop Elijah Holyfield.

Look, you don’t stop running backs by ‘trucking them’. You stop them by tackling properly and not allowing them to get yards after contact. If the Florida defense want’s to focus on delivering a ‘killer blow’ against Holyfield then, by all means, let them try. It’s pretty freaking hard to hit that guy so hard that he doesn’t get up. It’s a lot easier to practice proper tackling technique and bring him down when you have an opportunity. But I’m going to stop giving the Gators some coaching points. Let’s hope they actually try and live up to their stupid bravado. We saw how well that went for them last season.

Elijah Holyfield has become a bit of a household name now and this week, he could cement his place in UGA folklore if he becomes the bell cow many fans think he should be. I think Kirby Smart is going to feed his running backs a bit more and I expect Holyfield to be the guy who gets the most touches. Let Florida’s defense try and ‘truck him’ this weekend. I’m pretty sure that the guy with the heavyweight champion for a father will be just fine.