Daven Holly (born August 8, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played college football at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the seventh round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

. Holly also played for the Chicago Bears and the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

Early years

Holly attended Clairton High School where in his senior year made 45 receptions for 900 yards and seven touchdowns.

College career

Holly played college football at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. During his time there he played in 49 games making 85 tackles, nine interceptions and one touchdown on defense. He majored in communications.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Holly was selected by the

in the seventh round (215th overall) in the

. On September 3, he was waived by the 49ers.

Chicago Bears

Holly was then claimed by the Chicago Bears on September 4. In his rookie season, he played in three games making seven tackles. He made his NFL debut at the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 11. He was waived by Chicago on June 15, 2006.

Cleveland Browns

Holly was signed by the

as a free agent on July 13. He proved to be a valuable addition to a position that was decimated with injury. In his first season with the Browns he made 14 appearances and 12 starts during which he made 56 tackles and five interceptions which led the team, (one of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown versus the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 19). He also recorded his first fumble for a touchdown against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

on December 24. In the 2007 season, Holly appeared in 15 games with six starts. He made 47 tackles. In the 2008 offseason, Holly was tendered a one-year, $2 million contract. Despite tearing two knee ligaments during offseason workouts on May 21, the Browns did not rescind their tender and Holly signed it the day after his injury. He was subsequently waived/injured and reverted to season-ending injured reserve.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holly, Daven 1982 births Living people People from Clairton, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football cornerbacks Cincinnati Bearcats football players San Francisco 49ers players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players