Nate Holley (born December 5, 1994) is an American professional football safety. Holley played high school football at Whitmer High School in Toledo, Ohio. He played college football at Kent State. He has been a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Nebraska Danger, Los Angeles Rams, Calgary Stampeders, Miami Dolphins, and Birmingham Stallions.

Nate Holley
Personal information
Born: (1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 (age 30)
Ottawa Lake, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio)
College:Kent State
Position:Safety
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Career CFL statistics
Total tackles:100
Sacks:1.0
Interceptions:1
Stats at CFL.ca

College career

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Holley played four seasons at Kent State, appearing in 43 games for the Golden Flashes, contributing with 424 tackles, three sacks and one interception.[1] He finished his collegiate career in the top 10 on the Golden Flashes’ all-time tackles list. During his senior season, he led the nation with an average of 8.9 solo tackles per game. For his career, he had 426 total tackles including 15 tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and seven pass breakups. He was named first-team all-Mid-American Conference in 2014 and 2015.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+14 in
(1.81 m)
209 lb
(95 kg)
29+12 in
(0.75 m)
9+18 in
(0.23 m)
4.68 s 1.57 s 2.65 s 4.25 s 6.96 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)
9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)
15 reps
All values from Pro Day[2]

Early career

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After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft Holley signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but was later released. He signed with the Indoor Football League’s Nebraska Danger on May 22, 2018; Holley played in only 2 games with Nebraska, but still put up an impressive 23 tackles and a forced fumble.[3] Holley next signed with the Los Angeles Rams on June 8, 2018, but was waived at the conclusion of training camp.[4][5]

Calgary Stampeders

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Holley signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on May 19, 2019. Holley had a very productive first season in the league, playing in all 18 regular season games and contributing with 78 defensive tackles, 22 special teams tackles, one sack and one interception. Following the season he was named the league's Most Outstanding Rookie.[6] On February 14, 2020, the CFLPA filed a grievance against the CFL on behalf of Holley. Holley sought to be released from his contract so he could pursue NFL opportunities, as was the agreement when he signed his two-year contract the year prior.[7][8] In late April, after the NFL window had closed, the CFLPA announced that they were taking Holley's case to arbitration.[9] The CFL cancelled their 2020 season on August 17, and Holley was released from his contract two days later.[10]

Miami Dolphins

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Holley had a tryout with the Miami Dolphins on August 21, 2020.[11] He signed with the team the next day.[12] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[13][14] He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and December 9 for the team's weeks 13 and 14 games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[15][16] He was promoted to the active roster on January 2, 2021.[17]

On August 31, 2021, Holley was waived by the Dolphins.[18]

Toronto Argonauts

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On November 3, 2021, it was announced that Holley had signed with the Toronto Argonauts.[19] However, on November 17, 2021, the league announced that they would not register his contract due to a violation with their Violence Against Women Policy.[20]

Birmingham Stallions

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On March 10, 2022, Holley was drafted by the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League.[21] He was placed on injured reserve on May 19, 2022, with a lower leg injury.[22][23] He was not part of the roster after the 2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[24]

Personal life

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Holley has a twin named Nick, who is a running back. They played college football together at Kent State and were on the Los Angeles Rams and Nebraska Danger together.[25]

In early November 2016 Holley was charged with felony kidnapping and assault. He was immediately suspended by the NCAA and released by the Kent State Golden Flashes football program.[26] In February 2017, three months after being charged, Holley was found not guilty.[27]

Nate has a youtube channel with videos at: https://www.youtube.com/@nateholley8180

References

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  1. ^ "Nate Holley College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "20 Draft Scout NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  3. ^ https://goifl.com/sports/fball/2017-18/players/nathanholleyt4tt [dead link]
  4. ^ "Rams sign DB Nate Holley, reunite him with twin brother Nick". Rams Wire. June 8, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Rams Make Initial Roster Cuts". www.therams.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Stamps' Holley named Most Outstanding Rookie". CFL.ca. November 21, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Naylor, Dave (February 14, 2020). "CFLPA files grievance over Calgary Stampeders' refusal to release Nate Holley - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Staff, 3Down. "CFLPA files grievance for Stamps' linebacker Nate Holley to get NFL shot | 3DownNation". Retrieved February 15, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ TSN ca Staff (April 22, 2020). "CFLPA taking Holley case to arbitration - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Austin, Daniel (August 19, 2020). "'No bad blood' between Holley and Stampeders". CalgarySun.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  11. ^ @AlbertBreer (August 21, 2020). "Today's tryout/visit list" (Tweet). Retrieved August 21, 2020 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Williams, Charean (August 22, 2020). "Dolphins sign CFL star Nate Holley". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  13. ^ "Dolphins Acquire Lynn Bowden, Make Roster Moves". MiamiDolphins.com. September 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Dolphins Announce Practice Squad". MiamiDolphins.com. September 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "Running Back Myles Gaskin Activated". MiamiDolphins.com. December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  16. ^ @MiamiDolphins (December 9, 2020). "We have elevated S Nate Holley to the active roster as a COVID-19 replacement for Sunday's game" (Tweet). Retrieved January 17, 2021 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Miami Dolphins make roster moves". MiamiDolphins.com. January 2, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "Roster Moves: Dolphins Announce Roster Moves - August 31". MiamiDolphins.com. August 31, 2021.
  19. ^ "Argos add 2019 Most Outstanding Rookie Nate Holley". Toronto Argonauts. November 3, 2021. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  20. ^ @CFL_PR (November 17, 2021). "The CFL has decided to not register a contract for LB Nate Holley in accordance with our Violence Against Women Policy. We will not be commenting further out of respect for the privacy of those involved" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "USFL DRAFT 2022: SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT PICK-BY-PICK RESULTS". www.foxsports.com. Fox Media LLC. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  22. ^ @USFLStallions (May 19, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ @USFLStallions (May 20, 2022). "Game Status Report" (Tweet). Retrieved May 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "2024 UFL Team Rosters". TheUFL.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  25. ^ "Whitmer graduates Nick and Nate Holley are determined to make it to the NFL". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "Kent State DB Nate Holley charged with felony kidnapping". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  27. ^ "Ex-Kent State DB Nate Holley found not guilty on kidnapping, assault charges". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
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