Johnathan Mark Holifield (born July 14, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Football career

High school

Holifield played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Romulus High School Romulus Senior High School or Romulus High School is the public high school in the city of Romulus, Michigan in Metro Detroit. History In 2013 Inkster High School closed due to the closure of the Inkster School District. Students in the Inkst ...

Romulus, Michigan Romulus is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Romulus is a western suburb of Metro Detroit and is also considered part of the Dow ...

College

Holifield arrived at

in 1983. During his first two seasons as a Mountaineer, 1983 and 1984, Holifield accumulated 388 yards and 5 touchdowns. Holifield earned the

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

running back job in 1984, as a junior. He rushed for 595 yards and 6 touchdowns, along with a receiving score, that season. In 1986, Holifield was elected team captain and totaled his best season statistically. He rushed for 645 yards and 3 touchdowns his final season as a Mountaineer.

Professional

Holifield was drafted in the 12th round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 328th overall pick. He was a member of the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in 1988 and played three games for the

in the 1989 season. He was released in 1990.

After football

Having received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1987, Holifield earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

in 1996. He practiced law for five years, as a prosecutor in Cincinnati and in private practice by 1999. Afterwards, Holifield became involved in economic development. In 2006, Holifield became CEO of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. In 2007, Holifield was picked to lead the Urban League of Greater Cleveland. On September 18, 2017, Holifield was named executive director of the White House initiative on

historically black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holifield, John 1964 births Living people People from Wayne, Michigan Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan American football running backs West Virginia Mountaineers football players Cincinnati Bengals players University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni First Trump administration personnel Romulus Senior High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen