Jesse Holley (born January 8, 1984) 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 ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007. He played college football at

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. He won the reality TV show, ''4th and Long'' in 2009.

Early years

Holley played in the band at

Abraham Clark High School Abraham Clark High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from the borough of Roselle, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Roselle Public ...

in Roselle, 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.

College career

Holley played both

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. He was a member of the 2004–05 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. Holley walked-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. His 45-yard touchdown reception with 36 seconds left to play, was the go ahead score in a 31–24 win over

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. He also played his last season of basketball, scoring 13 points in 10 games and was a part of the 2005 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. 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.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Holley was signed as an

by the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2007 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. On October 4, he was released to make room for wide receiver

Marcus Maxwell Marcus James Maxwell (born July 8, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon. Maxwell was also a member of the ...

BC Lions

After

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

Barron Miles sent tapes to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

; Holley signed with the team on May 22, 2008, and was released on June 15, following the team's first pre-season game.

Dallas Cowboys

Holley was the winner of

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...

's football reality show ''4th and Long'' and received an invitation to attend the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

training camp. Before being on ''4th and Long'', he was working as a security guard, as well as selling cell phones in

. 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 the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

. On September 4, Holley returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. 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 on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. 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 the

, 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 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 ...

, he was the team's third receiver because

Dez Bryant Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...

was inactive with a bruised quadriceps. He recorded his first NFL 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 replaced Miles Austin, who had tweaked his hamstring. 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 by Dan Bailey. For the 2011 season (and career) he made a total of 7 receptions for 169 yards for an average of 24.1 yards per catch. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year, as he was facing a knee injury.

New England Patriots

Holley was signed by the New England Patriots on June 11,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. He was released on September 1 and retired from professional football, wanting to further rehab an injured knee.

Personal life

Holley is the younger brother of

Jamel Holley Jamel Curtis Holley (born September 13, 1979) is an American Democratic Party politician from the state of New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District from 2015 to 2022. He is the first A ...

, former Mayor of Roselle, New Jersey, and current New Jersey Assemblyman from the 20th Legislative District. In 2013, Jesse became a member of the

KRLD-FM KRLD-FM (, "105.3 The Fan") is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KRLD-FM is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located a ...

pre and post-game coverage. He also contributes and co-hosts other shows and podcasts at the station.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holley, Jesse 1984 births Living people Abraham Clark High School alumni African-American basketball players African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football wide receivers American men's basketball players Basketball players from New Jersey BC Lions players Canadian football wide receivers Cincinnati Bengals players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players North Carolina Tar Heels football players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players People from Roselle, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Union County, New Jersey 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people