Philadelphia Eagles: Elijah Holyfield’s case for a roster spot

Here’s a quick look at the resume if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan that doesn’t watch Georgia Bulldogs football.

One week later, Georgia faced a solid Auburn team that was 6-3 and was ranked 24th at the time. They brought their stout defense to Athens, Georgia that allowed the 14th-fewest points per game in the nation. That defense included 2020 first-round picks, defensive tackle Derrick Brown and defensive back Noah Igbinoghene, a second-round pick, defensive end Marlon Davidson, and a 2019 third-round pick, cornerback Jamel Dean. Holyfield didn’t look too flustered by the talent on that defense and ran for 93 yards on 15 carries.

In the two weeks following, he only ran the ball 15 times but racked up 129 yards and two touchdowns in two easy wins for Georgia, including a win over their rival Georgia Tech. These wins set up the SEC Championship game between fourth-ranked Georgia and the number one team in college football, Alabama.

In the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts, Alabama had ten defensive players drafted, and in 2019, they were all drafted within the first three rounds. In 2018, that defense was top three in the SEC in yards per game allowed, points per game allowed, total passing defense, and total rushing defense.

Georgia choked away a lead and lost by a slim margin of 35-28. Still, even with all of the defensive talent and those great coaches that Alabama has, Holyfield still ran for 60 yards on 14 carries. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it was admirable against an Alabama defense that held Texas A&M’s 1,700-yard rusher, Trayveon Williams, to just 31 yards on eight carries.

In a tough loss to finish his college career, he had another solid performance against the 15th-ranked Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl with 62 yards on 12 carries. Despite plenty of tough competition in his last six games of the season, he ran for 459 yards and three touchdowns on just 74 carries. That’s not a bad line at all.