Elijah Holyfield (AJC/Michael Carvell)
Elijah Holyfield, who has re-emerged as a UGA target at running back, will make a couple of other stops before he visits with the Bulldogs next weekend.
Holyfield is the 4-star from Woodward Academy and the son of boxing legend Evander Holyfield.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound will go to Auburn on Saturday, and then make his first trip to Alabama on Sunday.
Holyfield hasn’t named any leaders, but he is projected to sign with Auburn by 100-percent of the recruiting analysts on the 247sports Crystal Ball predictions. He’ll be at Auburn on Saturday for “Big Cat Weekend.”
“They tell me that I’m their No. 1 guy, and that they are taking two running backs,” Holyfield told the AJC on Friday. “They want me and this other guy from Alabama. If they can get us two, then they will be happy.”
On Sunday, Holyfield will see Alabama for the first time.
“That’s my most recent offer,” he said. “I want to get down there and meet Coach Saban. I’ve never been there before. I want to get down and see their facilities. They said I fit into their system real nice, and that I would be a great fit.”
Holyfield has had an off-again, on-again romance with UGA. Holyfield grew up as a fan of the Bulldog, and they were hot and heavy with their courtship early in the recruiting process. However, Holyfield said UGA lost touch after changing coaches at running back.
“Coach Brown recently reached out to me,” Holyfield said. “He came by my high school in the spring, and talked to my coaches. They are very interested in me again, so we’ll see how it goes again.
“I don’t hold any grudges (about not hearing from them). They explained what went on, so it’s all good. It was just when the staff was changing, they had to decide what they wanted to do … Coach Brown took his time to figure out who he liked and who he didn’t like.”
Holyfield will go to UGA next Saturday. He also plans trips to USC, Oregon and Tennessee this summer.
Holyfield is rated as the state’s No. 17 overall prospect. He’s also considered the top running back in one of the thinnest crops of running backs in state history. It’s a down year with only three running backs ranked among Georgia’s top 50 prospects.
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