 Holley in the 2009 preseason | |||||||
| No. 16 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1984-01-08)January 8, 1984 (age 41) Roselle, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 213 lb (97 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Abraham Clark (Roselle, New Jersey) | ||||||
| College: | North Carolina | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2007 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Jesse Holley (born January 8, 1984) is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver. He was signed by theCincinnati Bengals as anundrafted free agent in 2007. He playedcollege football andbasketball atNorth Carolina. He won the reality TV show,4th and Long in 2009.
Holley played in the band atAbraham Clark High School inRoselle, New Jersey where he is the all-time leader in receptions (106), receiving yards (1,449) and touchdown catches (27). Holley also played quarterback, starting five games at the position. In his junior year, Holley caught 44 passes for 865 yards and 13 touchdowns. He finished his career with 106 receptions for 1,449 yards, and 27 touchdown receptions, and was ranked in the top 20 receivers by most recruiting websites and magazines. In basketball, Holley averaged 20 points per game and broke the school's career basketball scoring record.[1]
Holley played bothbasketball andfootball for theUniversity of North Carolina. He was a member of the2004–05 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team that won the National Championship.
In football, he played in all 12 games as a freshman, had 12 receptions for 168 yards, two touchdowns and one tackle on special teams. Holleywalked-on to the Tar Heels men's basketball team, where he was a backup guard and scored 11 points in 15 games as a freshman.
Holley played in all 12 games and became one of the starting receivers his sophomore season. He finished the season second on the team with 30 catches for 456 yards and two touchdowns.[1] His 45-yard touchdown reception with 36 seconds left to play, was the go ahead score in a 31–24 win overWake Forest University. He also played his last season of basketball, scoring 13 points in 10 games and was a part of the2005 National Championship team.
Again starting all games his junior year, Holley led the team with 47 receptions for 670 yards and scored one touchdown. He was ranked fifth in the league in receiving yards per game and sixth in receptions.[1]
Holley had 37 receptions for 466 yards and scored two touchdowns as a senior. At the time, he finished his career eighth in school history in career receptions (126) and receiving yards (1,760), averaging 14.0 yards per-catch and scoring 7 touchdowns.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+1⁄8 in (1.88 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | 4.65 s | 1.55 s | 2.70 s | 4.40 s | 6.98 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 18 reps | |||
| All values fromPro Day[2] | ||||||||||||
Holley was signed as anundrafted free agent by theCincinnati Bengals after the2007 NFL draft. He finished the preseason with 3 catches for 25 yards. He was waived on September 4 and signed to the Bengals'practice squad three days later.[3] On October 4, he was released to make room forwide receiverMarcus Maxwell.[4]
AftersafetyBarron Miles sent tapes to theBC Lions of theCanadian Football League;[5] Holley signed with the team on May 22, 2008,[6] and was released on June 15, following the team's first pre-season game.[7][8]
Holley was the winner ofMichael Irvin's football reality show4th and Long and received an invitation to attend theDallas Cowboys training camp.[9] Before being on4th and Long, he was working as a security guard, as well as selling cell phones inNorth Carolina.[10] On July 21, 2009, he was officially signed by the Cowboys. Holley caught a pass on August 21, 2009, in the fourth quarter of the preseason game against theTennessee Titans. On September 4, Holley returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown against theMinnesota Vikings. The Cowboys released Holley the following day as a final cut. He cleared waivers and was signed to the Cowboys' practice squad on September 6, where he would spend the rest of the year.
Holley signed a futures contract with the Cowboys on January 22, 2010, after his previous agreement expired at season's end. On September 4, he was again waived at the final cuts and was signed to the team's practice squad the day after. He was promoted to the active roster on October 15 to play mainly onspecial teams. During that season he was active for 14 games and ranked third on the team with 16 special teams tackles.
In the August 27,2011 preseason game, against theMinnesota Vikings, Holley recorded three catches for 51 yards. At the conclusion of the preseason he made the 53-man roster to be the fifth receiver on the depth chart.
On September 18, during the second game of the season against theSan Francisco 49ers, he was the team's third receiver becauseDez Bryant was inactive with a bruised quadriceps. He recorded his firstNFL reception for 11 yards and made two more during the Cowboys' final drive in regulation, leading to overtime. In overtime, after a three-and-out by the 49ers offense, Holley wasn't supposed to be on the field for the first series, but he replacedMiles Austin, who had tweaked his hamstring.[11] He ended up making a 77-yard reception during Dallas' first offensive play, taking the ball to the 1-yard line and setting up the game winning 19-yard field goal byDan Bailey.[12]
For the2011 season (and career) he made a total of 7 receptions for 169 yards for an average of 24.1 yards per catch.[13] He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year, as he was facing a knee injury.
Holley was signed by theNew England Patriots on June 11,2012.[14] He was released on September 1 and retired from professional football, wanting to further rehab an injured knee.
Holley is the younger brother ofJamel Holley, former mayor ofRoselle, New Jersey, and currentNew Jersey Assemblyman from the20th Legislative District. In 2013, Jesse became a member of theKRLD-FMDallas Cowboys pre and post-game coverage. He also contributes and co-hosts other shows and podcasts at the station.
In 2023, Jesse launched his own podcast "Unfiltered With Jesse Holley" with sports media company Fanatics View, which covers the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL topics.
