Warrick Donte Holdman (born November 22, 1975) 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 ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. He was originally
drafted by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
in the fourth round of the
1999 NFL draft
The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
. 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 ...
at
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
.
Early life
Holdman was a Super Prep
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
n selection, first team Class 5A all-state and all-greater
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
first team as a senior at
Alief Elsik High School
Alief Elsik High School is a high school in the Alief region of Houston, Texas, United States.
Elsik is divided into two campuses: the main campus (12601 High Star in Houston, zip code 77072), and the Alief Elsik Ninth Grade Center (located a ...
in Alief. He was rated as one of the top linebackers in the nation after totaling 151 tackles and three sacks as a senior.
College career
Holdman was recruited by
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
and granted medical redshirt in 1994. As a freshman, he played in nine games with one start and ended the season with 44 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. In his sophomore season in 1996, he finished second on the team with 73 tackles and added 2.5 sacks, three pass defenses and a forced fumble. As a junior, Holdman started every game and finished with 81 tackles, five sacks and played in the
Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937.
The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...
. He was named an All-America honorable mention by
College Sports News as senior in 1998. Holdman was first a team all-
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
selection. He finished with 95 tackles, eight pass break-ups, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one interception. He finished career with 294 tackles, 46 for losses, 16.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
Professional career
Holdman was
drafted in the
1999 NFL draft
The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
.
That year, Holdman started as nickel linebacker and on special teams before landing a starting spot on the weak side. He played in all 16 games, and had 75 tackles. He also had two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 11 special teams tackles. Holdman had a superb sophomore season in 2000, in which he had 87 tackles. He also added nine tackles on special teams. In 2001, Holdman came back strong after rehabilitating his injured left knee, starting 15 of 16 games, recording a career-high 145 tackles and three forced fumbles. Unfortunately, in 2002, he started the first four games before suffering a season-ending right knee injury. In his fifth season with the Bears in 2003, he returned from a knee injury to start 13 games and totaled 79 tackles. Holdman was then traded to the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in 2004, where he appeared in all 16 games, starting 14, and posted 110 tackles, a half sack and three pass breakups. He then moved to the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
in 2005, where he played in 14 games, starting 7 of them. On April 26, 2007, he signed a one-year deal with the Broncos. On February 11, 2008, the Broncos released him.
References
External links
Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holdman, Warrick
1975 births
Living people
Players of American football from Houston
American football linebackers
Texas A&M Aggies football players
Chicago Bears players
Cleveland Browns players
Washington Redskins players
Denver Broncos players