Vols Targeting 2016 RB Elijah Holyfield
By Zach Ragan
Apr 12, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones signs autographs for fans before the orange and white spring game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
With highly touted recruits like Jalen Hurd and Derrell Scott set to make their debuts this fall, combined with senior running back Marlin Lane, it may seem like the Vols are set at running back.
While that may be true for now, it doesn’t mean the Vols can neglect the position in recruiting.
That’s why the Vols recently extended an offer to 2016 running back Elijah Holyfield from Atlanta, GA (Woodward Academy).
Holyfield, 5’11″/194 lbs, has yet to be rated by any of the major recruiting services.
Elijah Holyfield Sophomore Highlights
Even though he hasn’t been rated yet, it’s easy to see why the Vols are targeting Holyfield if you watch the above highlights.
He has great field vision and great foot-work. He sees the hole and he goes straight to it.
Despite Holyfield’s smaller frame, he doesn’t shy away from contact. Once he gets into a college strength and conditioning program, he could really develop into a physical style runner at the next level.
The one knock on Holyfield, and this is something that Tennessee had to deal with last year with Rajion Neal, is that he has a tendency to bounce his runs to the outside. He’s able to do that at the high school level because he can out-run the edge defenders.
That’s not something Holyfield will be able to do at the SEC level. At least not on a consistent basis.
But otherwise, Holyfield looks like a solid prospect. He already has offers from Boston College, Indiana, Mississippi State, Virginia, Wake Forest and Wisconsin, in addition to his offer from Tennessee.
The son of legendary boxer Evander Holyfield has yet to garner a lot of attention at the national level, but a strong junior campaign could be all it takes before his offer list is full of names like Georgia, LSU and Alabama.
If that comes to pass, then the Vols will be glad they were one of the first SEC schools to offer Holyfield.