100 in 100: Trindon Holliday (82 of 100)

by Drew Kerr on Apr 3, 2010 2:00 PM PDT in 100 in 100 (2010)

18 DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...

Speed kills. Trindon Holliday for the LSU Tigers had a terrific season doing kick returns last year. Holliday was a two-sport athlete for the Tigers and if you've watched him play any, you would have already guessed that his other sport was track & field.

Although, he didn't do a whole bunch on offense, his ability on special teams contributed quite significantly.

Multiple sources have Holliday slotted in the late rounds but he could end up being one of the better return men entering the draft this year. He is like a mini stick of dynamite considering that he stands under 5'6" tall and explodes nearly every time he touches the ball. He's extremely elusive and players of the opposition typically are watching him pass through their arms only to feel the wind passing them by.

Below, we'll take a look at some of Holliday's stats and highlights.

This video showcases just how explosive Holliday is in the return game. He can add some fire to special teams for the team that drafts him.

CAREER STATS:

Stats Overview	Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
YEAR	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
2006	14	172	12.3	38	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
2007	53	364	6.9	33	2	2	3	1.5	3	0	0	0
2008	21	114	5.4	39	0	2	33	16.5	15	0	0	0
2009	27	126	4.7	19	1	3	36	12.0	26	0	0	0

2009 Regular Season Game Log			Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
DATE	OPP	RESULT	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
9/5	@Washington	W 31-23	1	1	1.0	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
9/12	Vanderbilt	W 23-9	3	14	4.7	11	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
9/19	Louisiana-Lafayette	W 31-3	2	14	7.0	11	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
9/26	@Mississippi State	W 30-26	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
10/3	@Georgia	W 20-13	1	3	3.0	3	0	1	4	4.0	4	0	0	0
10/10	Florida	L 13-3	2	13	6.5	10	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
10/24	Auburn	W 31-10	2	8	4.0	5	0	2	32	16.0	26	0	0	0
10/31	Tulane	W 42-0	1	4	4.0	4	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
11/7	@Alabama	L 24-15	1	2	2.0	2	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
11/14	Louisiana Tech	W 24-16	Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats.
11/21	@Mississippi	L 25-23	Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats.
11/28	Arkansas	W 33-30	9	57	6.3	19	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

2009 Postseason Game Log

Rushing

Receiving

Fumbles

BOWL

OPP

RESULT

ATT

YDS

AVG

LNG

REC

YDS

AVG

LNG

FUM

LST

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

Penn State

L 19-17

2.5

0.0

SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:

Holliday is most likely too small to contribute in any other way than special teams. He ran a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash at the combine (as expected) and was also a top-performer in several other events. He lacks the ability and awareness to be an effective route runner as a wide receiver and he is a liability in pass blocking thus excluding him for the running back position. He is solely going to be a special teams guy which makes him only as valuable as a late round draft pick. Holliday did not do measurements at the combine but he is roughly 5'5" and 160 LBS.

Possibilities -- 6th Round: Picks 170-207, 7th Round: Picks 208-255. Possible UDFA.

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Comments

The guy literally only has 1 use, (trick plays not included)

and he’s still worth our 5th round pick. His style of returning kicks is just like former Saints return man Michael Lewis aka the Beerman. Its a very downhill, straight-forward return style.

He’s not elusive enough to take one back everytime… But he’s so fast he’s almost past the wedge breakers by the time the coverage team is set up to make a play… Expect a kick return avg around 35 yards for this guy. Alot of kicks taken back to midfield maybe 1 taken back all the way, but I’d honestly rather have that then a guy that takes 2 or 3 back and is routinely dropped on the 20-30 trying to make people miss and take it all the way.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 3, 2010 3:27 PM PDT reply actions

Also - At the bottom it says possible UDFA

That is not a possibility. While the guy’s 40 at the combine wasn’t as good as it could have been… By recorded 100M times he’ll be the fastest man to ever play pro football. 10.00 seconds which makes him a hair faster than Jacoby Ford who apparently is faster over the first 20-30 meters and then Holliday has a better top end.

Somebody will draft the kid, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger in the 5th as alot of the guys at that point in the draft are a crap-shoot anyways. At least with Holliday you know what you’re getting. A friggin lightning bolt that does one job and does it really really fast.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 3, 2010 3:32 PM PDT reply actions

1 more thing

Good choice on this one. Holliday won’t be touched near the top 100… but he’s still a more interesting guy than some of the dudes that will be.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 3, 2010 3:37 PM PDT reply actions

Personally I would prefer Jacoby Ford (much better overall value) or for a late round pick Vann would be amazing.

by Mullester on Apr 3, 2010 5:15 PM PDT reply actions

Holy s^#t

You’re not kidding about Vann. Almost 18 yards/PR and over 24 yards/KR for his career at Florida A&M. And he holds the record for most career return TD’s in the entire NCAA, I think it’s like 11.

BTW, I from what I understand, Sing and Mike Johnson were at his pro day. They probably heard what Vann can do and had to see it for themselves. Don’t be surprised if this guy is either somewhere on our board and/or if he gets picked up as a UDFA.

by Mangoman on Apr 3, 2010 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions

I hope he is I’d be stoked if we picked him in the 6th or 7th range.

by Mullester on Apr 3, 2010 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Special teams stats

from small school guys are exaggerated. These ST guys competing at very small programs are dudes that are, (being very nice here), just plain horrible.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 3, 2010 11:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Like Josh Cribbs . . .

by bignerd on Apr 4, 2010 12:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Kent State's in the MAC

Florida A&M is in Div. 1-AA. Pretty big difference I think.

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 4, 2010 1:20 AM PDT up reply actions

Like Kenny O'Brien.....

That was UC Davis, Division 2 at the time.

by seafood lover on Apr 4, 2010 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Huh?

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 4, 2010 7:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes indeed

You got my meaning. When I say small school I don’t mean – Oh I played at a non-competitive 1-A school. I mean… I couldn’t play 1-A ball… So I found a middling 1-AA club and tried to make it over there… They wouldn’t let me start or backup anything… So they said I’d make a great special teams player!

Now the return man at that level is still good… But the guys he is playing against are terrible

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 4, 2010 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed.

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 4, 2010 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Guys who compete at small schools are just plain horrible. . . Why didn’t anyone tell Larry Allen that?

by Mangoman on Apr 4, 2010 6:23 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Oh special teams guys. I guess they didn’t tell Owusu-Ansah that either.

by Mangoman on Apr 4, 2010 6:25 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

We don't know if he's good yet.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 4, 2010 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions

If you wanted to seem smart

You could had used Randy Moss. He’s 1-AA technically. But… Was he a wedge buster on their special teams? NO you say? Oh maybe he was TALENTED and they put the scrubs at small schools on ST defensive units.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 4, 2010 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions

When did this become a question of intelligence?

Happy Easter man hope you’re having a great day.

That said, Vann is not exactly what you’d call a scrub. Yes he got his national notariety as a returner and was recognized on College Gameday when he was one short of the single season record for PR TD’s. But he also is not all that bad of a CB. Look up his stats if you haven’t already.

There’s no proven theory that guys who end up as special teamers on Div I-AA or any level of college football are horrible players and shouldn’t be given a chance at the professional level. The bottom line is it is a fact that Vann had 11 return TD’s in his college career, which is an NCAA record. He had 5 in his Sr year alone, which is also an NCAA record. That’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment in any level of college football. The guy deserves some credit. Sing and Mike Johnson seem to think so, I think that’s why they showed up at his pro day.

by Mangoman on Apr 4, 2010 3:56 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm saying

Take his ST return stats with a grain of salt. Because he’s a talented guy playing against scrubs. His stats are probably less legit than the numbers JPP racked up in JuCo. At least JPP’s numbers came against academically challenged starters.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 4, 2010 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Ok man your point is noted

Last point & I’ll leave it at that. The one game he played against better scrubs wasn’t all that bad. Against Miami, FL he averaged over 21 yards/ret for KR’s and the one PR he had went for 15 yards (Miami only punted twice in the game). And Miami was ranked 11th in the country at the time. So granted, the talent that is normally around him is leaning to the left of mediocre, but even those numbers suggest he’s got potential to do something good at the next level.

by Mangoman on Apr 4, 2010 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Now those are good numbers

and add some credibility to the numbers he put up against scrub teams. Thanks for the addition.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 5, 2010 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Leroy Vann

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4NvCMMHXgg

by Mullester on Apr 3, 2010 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah dude I’m still trying to find a mop to wipe the drool off the floor. I saw a PR where the ball dropped, rolled behind him and he still picked it up and ran it in.

by Mangoman on Apr 3, 2010 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Ok he’s ours. On college Gameday he told Desmond Howard he is a Niner fan. Sign him up!

by Mangoman on Apr 3, 2010 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Think I still like Holliday better

Most of those run backs were set up by incredible walls and lanes.

by Drew Kerr on Apr 3, 2010 5:51 PM PDT up reply actions

He is really explosive in the 1st 10 yards after taking the kick. He’s top end speed didn’t look premier, he was hanging on to finish a lot of those returns.

by bignerd on Apr 3, 2010 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Yep

Agreed. He got caught from behind a couple times, but he starts off really well. I think I’d take Holliday though.

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 4, 2010 1:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Wow Wow and Wow

Did I mention wow?? In the return vs. Ole Miss he ran through a crowd like it wasn’t even there! One can question with a guy of his size just how durable he will be in the next level. But surprisingly enough, he never missed a game in four years. An intangible that makes him so remarkable. Oh and BTW, for his career at LSU he averaged over 15 yards/return as a PR and almost 25 as a KR. I’d say that even though he will be a one-dimentional player, he is still worth the investment for the exceptional skill he brings to the table. I could easily see him going as early as the 6th. I just wish we will have a decent enough draft where we can get him as a bonus.

by Mangoman on Apr 3, 2010 5:16 PM PDT reply actions

He would be a great late round pick

by GMARCH on Apr 3, 2010 5:30 PM PDT reply actions

So...

Oakland in round 3? After Campbell and Jacoby Ford?

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on Apr 3, 2010 8:36 PM PDT reply actions

Hehehe

Yeah I’m pretty worried actually. Al’s taking those two, then Holiday in the third and Vann in the fourth.

by Mangoman on Apr 3, 2010 8:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Draft that little person

It’s really hard to get down low and tackle those guys especially running in the opposite direction at full speed. Lower center of gravity, better ability to shift, literally can duck behind blockers and this guys a legitimate college track star.

He’s worth just drafting to return kicks. The team spends 5th picks just to draft gunners, what’s wrong with using the same type pick for a returner?

by bignerd on Apr 3, 2010 9:51 PM PDT reply actions

re:

The team spends 5th picks just to draft gunners

Do they really? Who would that be? Not that I wouldn’t support drafting Holliday, but I’ve never heard of a team drafting a player without the thought that he could play snaps at a regular position (excluding kickers/punters and some returnmen).

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 4, 2010 1:24 AM PDT up reply actions

Michael Robinson, Marcus Hudson, and Scott McKillop come to mind.
Although McKillop actually has potential to play on defense.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Apr 4, 2010 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions

I think every player is drafted with the intentions of having them do more than just special teams

at least for the most part.

by Drew Kerr on Apr 4, 2010 10:48 AM PDT up reply actions

Holliday can be used for trick plays

or as a distraction as a defense will immediately think trick play if you bring him on the field

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 4, 2010 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Hell...

If he can actually catch the ball, you can put him out at WR when you’re stuck on your own goalline. They are either going to have to try to jam him at the line, in which case if he gets off it quick you’re looking at a 99 yard touchdown, or they will give him a huge cushion and you can get the ball off the goalline.

Gimme 1 round!

by ItBurnzWhenIP on Apr 4, 2010 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions