For now, the name catches attention: Elijah Holyfield. The son of the former champ chose Georgia and will soon make his own name at running back in Athens.
Three things to know about Holyfield:
1. Workhorse: Woodward Academy coach John Hunt said Holyfield's career was exemplified by one drive from Holyfield's sophomore season. In an opener at Lovett in 2013, Woodward Academy was unsettled at quarterback. "Our quarterbacks were either throwing interceptions or fumbling the ball … couldn't do anything right," Hunt recalled. "So I said to myself, 'If I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging with my best player."
Hunt proceeded to call roughly 15-18 handoffs to Holyfield on a drive deep inside Lovett territory, before calling timeout on a critical third-down situation.
“I called timeout and huddled everybody up,” Hunt said. “There’s Elijah over there, and he is huffing and puffing, just about to die. But he never said a dang-gum word. He didn’t want to come out.”
2. An easy choice: The son of boxing great Evander Holyfield, Elijah Holyfield picked Georgia over Alabama and Auburn on Sept. 4. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had been committed to the Bulldogs for a month, but kept his decision quiet until the right time. Elijah Holyfield is a physical relentless running back who finished his career at Woodward Academy with 3,332 yards and 49 rushing touchdowns. He also returned five kickoffs for touchdowns.
3. Low-key approach: With his celebrity name and coveted talent, Elijah Holyfield's recruiting could have been a big spectacle. Holyfield had big-name schools courting him for years, but managed to stay low-key.
“Personally, I think he approached (the recruiting process) the way I think all kids ought to,” Hunt said. “I thought he did a wonderful job. He didn’t string it out. He didn’t make a big spectacle like of a higher recruits do these days. And he never did that.”
