Montrae Rondrell Holland (born May 21, 1980) 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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

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 divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Early years

Holland was born in

Jefferson, Texas Jefferson is a city in Marion County, Texas, Marion County, in the U.S. state of Texas's Northeast Texas, northeastern region. With a population of 1,875 at the 2020 United States census, it is the county seat of Marion. History Almost every comm ...

with a defect in his right leg which he had corrected in seventh grade. They had to break his leg and fuse his growth plates together on both legs which stunted his growth which made it so he could not grow anymore. Holland attended Jefferson High School where he was an

in football and also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a

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freshman, he was a backup at right guard. As a sophomore, he started all 13 games at right guard and did not allow a sack. He contributed to the team leading the nation in passing (384 yards per game) and scoring offense (42.4 points per game). As a junior, he started every game at right guard, while allowing only two sacks. As a senior, he started the first 10 games at right guard. He was a three-year starter and registered a streak of 29 consecutive starts at

. He received All-conference honors in every year he started for the school.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Holland was selected by the

in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He appeared in all 16 games (7 starts) as a rookie. After playing the first nine games 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 ...

, he filled in at left guard for four games for an injured Kendyl Jacox, before switching to right guard to replace an injured

LeCharles Bentley LeCharles Vernon Bentley (born November 7, 1979) is an American former college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for Ohio State University, earne ...

for the last two contests. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, he was named the full-time starter at right guard, missing three games with a torn ligament in his right knee, that he suffered in the eleventh game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He contributed to Deuce McAllister third consecutive 1,000-yard season. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he began the season as reserve for the first three games, before starting seven games at right guard in place of

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 ...

-bust

Jermane Mayberry Jermane Timothy Mayberry (born August 29, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia ...

and three games at left guard. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, he was a backup at guard and was declared inactive in two playoff games.

Denver Broncos

On March 3,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, he signed as a

with the

. He passed

Chris Kuper Chris Kuper (born December 19, 1982) is a former American football offensive guard for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos selected him in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football for t ...

on the depth chart and started 16 games at right guard. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he reported to training camp out of shape and lost his starter position to Kuper. On August 28, Holland was traded to the

in exchange for a fifth-round pick (#158- Matt Tennant) in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

Dallas Cowboys

, the

acquired Holland because they needed depth in the offensive line after Kyle Kosier missed 13 games with a foot injury. He appeared in seven games (two starts) In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, the Cowboys tried to convert him into a backup center, but because this was a new position to him, he was not effective. He was declared inactive for all 16 regular season games and in two playoff contests. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, he was mostly a reserve player, starting two games at left guard in place of an injured Kosier. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he was released before the season started because he was out of shape. On October 18, he was re-signed after both

Derrick Dockery Derrick Dewayne Dockery (born September 7, 1980) is a former professional American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University ...

and rookie Bill Nagy went down with injuries. He started 10 games at left guard and was a key player on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, before suffering a partially torn left biceps. On December 26, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. In

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 gather ...

, the Cowboys couldn't agree with Holland on a new contract and he decided instead not to play professional football.

Personal life

On June 24, 2008, he was presented by Mayor Bob Avery with the key to his hometown

, for his generous contributions over the years to the community, including his support of the Marion County Youth Football league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Montrae 1980 births Living people People from Jefferson, Texas American football offensive guards Florida State Seminoles football players New Orleans Saints players Denver Broncos players Dallas Cowboys players Players of American football from Texas