After a 1,000-yard season as the #1 running back at top 5 football power University of Georgia, Evander Holyfield's son Elijah is foregoing his senior year and jumping to the NFL.
Running back Elijah Holyfield, son of boxing legend Evander Holyfield, is the latest Georgia player to declare for the 2019 NFL draft. Holyfield announced on Twitter he will forego his senior season to try his hand at the professional level.
Holyfield excelled in 2018 after taking over as Georgia's No. 1 running back. He finished the season with 1,018 yards and seven touchdowns on 159 carries.
Another interesting article, this one from 2014, when Elijah Holyfield was still playing high school football. Turns out his daddy Evander had dabbled in football when he was a teenager!! https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/spor ... uture.html
Elijah is making his own name in another physically harsh sport. He is regarded as among the most coveted junior running backs in the country, with prestigious colleges programs vying to sign him.
The elder Holyfield might have heavyweight titles to his name, but he is watching his son head down a path he himself once considered.
Upon returning from the 1984 Summer Olympics, where he lost a bid for a gold medal amid questionable judging, Evander revealed to his manager a desire to play football at the University of Georgia, as a possible steppingstone to a roster spot with the N.F.L.’s Atlanta Falcons.
This goal was grandiose beyond reach. A much smaller Holyfield had quit his Alabama high school team in 10th grade over a lack of playing time, and he had not played football since.
Holyfield heeded the manager’s advice to stay with boxing. Instead of the value of a scholarship, his likely monetary ceiling for football, he amassed an estimated $200 million in the ring.
“Elijah tells people, ‘My daddy loves football more than he loves boxing,’ ” said Evander, who said the sentiment was true."
Elijah dabbled in boxing as a child and might have carried on the family tradition except that his brawling tendencies too often precluded punch prevention.
"He loved to brawl,” Evander said. “Anything that is rough and tough, he likes it.”
“He’s not your prototypical big back, but he runs hard and with authority,” said Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports' national recruiting director. “He loves contact. Doesn’t go down easy.”
Makes you wonder how Elijah would have done as a boxer if he wasnt so good at football. Like daddy Evander, Elijah clearly can take a hard hit and has Evander's work ethic.