Can Elijah Holyfield Become the Next Real Deal"?
PHILADELPHIA – His dad’s nickname is “The Real Deal,” so if Elijah Holyfield ends up taking advantage of the opportunity given to him this week by the Eagles, he will need a different one.
Holyfield is, of course, the son of Evander Holyfield, who is a four-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1990-92, going 44-10-2 with 29 knockouts from 1984-2011.
Evander Holyfield is expected to be at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday when the Eagles host the Seattle Seahawks in a wildcard playoff game. He will wait to see if his son gets into the game.
Elijah Holyfield chose not to follow in his dad’s footsteps, though he did box until he was about 13. But it was football, a game he began playing when he was four, that he loved.
“I don’t think boxing helped me much in football other than toughness; kind of gets you over your fear to go and attack,” said Holyfield. “You can use stuff like that, but don’t do boxing much anymore.”
Holyfield’s locker inside the team’s training facility is right next to Boston Scott’s, so Holyfield doesn’t have to look much further than what can happen with perseverance and making the most of an opportunity.
“I use a story like Boston’s is motivation for me, for sure,” said Holyfield, of the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Right now, Holyfield looks like he may not have a role on Sunday, not with Miles Sanders telling reporters on Thursday that he thinks he should be able to play on Sunday. Sanders, the rookie sensation who suffered a low ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, told reporters on Thursday that he expects to play against the Seahawks.
Sanders did not practice on Thursday, but said he is hopeful of practicing on Friday, though it will depend on how much the swelling in his ankle has subsided.
Holyfield was signed on Christmas Eve when the Eagles put Daeshon Hall on Injured Reserve. It wasn’t known then what Sanders’ status would be, and the Eagles wanted to see how Jordan Howard did in practice this week as he worked his way back into game shape after missing six weeks with a shoulder injury.
If all systems are a go with Sanders and Howard, as well as Boston Scott, then Holyfield will likely be inactive. Still, he is on an active roster for the first time and is excited for whatever opportunity that comes his way.
“I don’t think there’s a bigger stage than a playoff game in Philadelphia,” said Holyfield. “It’s my first time in Philadelphia. I’m interested to see how the crowd is, so it will be learning experience no matter how it goes. The one thing I did at (the University of) Georgia is you just gotta go do it. All the other stuff you block out and just go do it.”
It wasn’t until Holyfield’s junior season at Georgia that he emerged, when he rushed for 1,018 yards with a 6.2 yards per carry average. As a sophomore, he had a 5.9 yards per carry average but just 293 yards in limited playing time.
He left for the NFL after his junior year but went undrafted. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers and spent the season on their practice squad. When the Panthers’ season ended on Sunday, the Eagles signed him.
Head coach Doug Pederson liked Holyfield when he went to Georgia for a private workout prior to the draft.
“We've had four guys on our roster typically most of the season,” said Pederson. “It gives us depth obviously at the position. Obviously, he has to come in and pick up the playbook, at least the game plan for this week, before we can do anything. But a player that we were excited to pick up when we had the opportunity.”
