Seattle Seahawks RB George Holani Making Most of 'Opportunity of a Lifetime'

Relishing the chance to carve out an NFL career of his own, George Holani has brought his hard hat and blue collar mentality from Boise State to the Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani participates in a blocking drill during training camp. / Corbin Smith/Seahawks On SI

RENTON, Wash. - When the pads come out in early August after months of running around in shorts and a jersey, a semblance of real football returns to NFL training camp practices, but defenders typically aren't bringing ball carriers to the ground and ball carriers aren't typically running over teammates in "thud" tempo.

For an undrafted rookie such as Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani, however, the stakes couldn't be higher as he pursues a roster spot behind Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. With the chance to dish out the punishment, as he did throughout his career at Boise State, he's aiming to take advantage of every rep he receives, providing an infectious energy with a physical style and running behind his pads as if he's playing in the Super Bowl.

Just ask teammate and fellow rookie Nehemiah Pritchett, who took the brunt of Holani's Madden-approved truck stick in Monday's practice, ending up on his backside as the runner bowled over him to delight of Walker, who sprinted from the sideline to celebrate afterward. With the preseason opener looming on Saturday against the Chargers, he's more than ready to lower the boom on another opponent in his NFL game debut.

"For me right now, it's just taking it one day at a time," Holani said of his quest to make Seattle's roster heading into the exhibition opener. "Just finding that routine, especially coming up before game day, being able to understand what I'm gonna do, and just taking it all in honestly. I think it's a great opportunity, once in a lifetime opportunity, so not everybody gets to do this. I'm just being able to go out there and just take it all in."

The latest in a long line of successful running backs who starred on the blue turf at Boise State and taken their talents to the NFL, including following up stars such as Doug Martin and Jay Ajayi, Holani went undrafted despite turning in a stellar career for the Broncos. In five seasons with the program, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark twice, scored 26 rushing touchdowns, and averaged a healthy 5.2 yards per carry, earning himself All-Mountain West honors twice.

A three-tool back, as Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb would likely call him, Holani showcased sure hands reeling in 88 receptions as a receiver and scored eight touchdowns in the passing game, dropping a total of three passes in his entire college career. He also proved himself to be a quality pass protector, which has put him on the radar as a third down back option for his new team.

Before signing, Holani identified the Seahawks as the ideal landing spot if he wasn't drafted, visiting the team in April for a pre-draft meeting. Once his name wasn't called, the two sides quickly struck a deal, presenting the NFL opportunity he had worked so hard to achieve.

"I had never been to Seattle, the Seahawks facility. So when I first came, I loved it. I loved everything about it. It's a great environment, great fan base, great culture all around, so I just wanted to be a part of that. It's a blessing for me to be here," Holani stated.

Now sporting a No. 36 jersey, Holani has wasted little time making his presence felt competing for a roster spot in a talented Seattle backfield. Over the past week, he has gradually started to earn more snaps, including seeing some work with the first-team offense. Aside from his jaw-dropping bulldozer move on Pritchett and consistently strong pass protection drills against linebackers, he flashed his underrated burst in Wednesday's practice when he bounced an inside zone run outside and outran three defenders to the sideline, sprinting past the pylon for a 17-yard touchdown.

When asked about his quick start as an undrafted rookie, Holani said he owes his early success to how Boise State coaches running backs and prepares players for the league in general, which has helped ease the transition to the pro game. Ironically, playing for five different coordinators in college also made learning a new playbook more of a breeze due to prior experience and exposure to multiple spread and pro-style systems.

"Boise State is a real blue collar program. We're a lot about mentality," Holani said. "So being able to run the ball, that's our mentality. We take huge pride in the run game, and then being able to just go off of that, and then transition to the pass game. But we've been really good in the run game these past couple years, a lot of great running backs. It's just exciting to see where Boise State is going to take that to next level."

Proud of what he accomplished at Boise State, Holani has brought his bruising mentality and blue collar approach to Seattle's backfield and made a name for himself in the first two-plus weeks of training camp, impressing Grubb and coach Mike Macdonald with his work ethic, football IQ, and physicality as he competes against Kenny McIntosh for the team's third down back role.

Of course, for Holani to secure a roster spot, he will have to prove himself as more than simply a running back. Behind Walker and Charbonnet, his value will also have to lie on special teams, where the Seahawks will ask him and other third down back candidates to contribute on kick and punt coverage teams and he could also be used as a blocker on kickoffs with the new rules implemented this season.

With his spot still far from locked up, Holani's quest to make the Seahawks roster will take another step on Saturday with the preseason opener in Los Angeles. Taking everything in stride with a hard-nosed, no-nonsense approach learned in Boise, he will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Martin, Ajayi, and other Broncos running backs before him and carve out a quality NFL career of his own one powerful run, one smooth reception, and one blitz pickup at a time.