Colin Holba (born July 8, 1994) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. Holba was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the sixth round (213th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.

Early life

While in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Holba played two years of

and three years of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He also made honor roll for all four years of high school and graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

at Eastern High School. Inspired by the influence of his older brother. He can attribute all of his collegiate and professional sporting success to his older brother, Brendan Holba, a high school teacher and varsity softball coach at York Community High School in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 45,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History M ...

College career

Holba played college football at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. While in college he met his wife Lauren Dale Holba, former Ladybird. They married June 23, 2018. He played with Lamar Jackson while at Louisville.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Holba was selected by the

in the sixth round, 213th overall, in the 2017 NFL draft. He was the first Louisville Cardinal to be drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft. On May 11, 2017, the Steelers signed Holba to a four-year, $2.52 million contract with a signing bonus of $129,314. He was selected in the draft to be the replacement for long time veteran Greg Warren. Throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, he competed with Kameron Canaday. On September 2, 2017, Holba was waived after losing the competition for the vacant

position to Canaday.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 14, 2017, Holba was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

after long snapper Matt Overton sustained a shoulder injury and was placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

. On June 14, 2018, Holba was waived by the Jaguars.

San Francisco 49ers (first stint)

On December 5, 2018, Holba signed a two-year deal with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

as a replacement for suspended long-snapper Kyle Nelson. On September 17, 2019, Holba was released by the 49ers. In October 2019, Holba was selected by the Dallas Renegades in the 2020 XFL Draft.

New York Giants

On November 12, 2019, Holba was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. On November 30, he was signed to the active roster after Zak DeOssie was placed on injured reserve, playing 5 games with the Giants. On April 28, 2020, the Giants waived Holba.

Los Angeles Rams (first stint)

On December 9, 2020, Holba was signed to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

' practice squad.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

On December 29, 2020, Holba was signed by the

off the Rams practice squad. He was waived on January 6, 2021.

Los Angeles Rams (second stint)

On January 15, 2021, Holba was signed to the

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 18. Holba was waived on May 12.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 30, 2021, Holba was signed to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

practice squad. He was released on January 18, 2022. Holba announced his retirement from professional football on February 28, 2022.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holba, Colin 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky Eastern High School (Louisville, Kentucky) alumni American football long snappers Louisville Cardinals football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Jacksonville Jaguars players San Francisco 49ers players New York Giants players Los Angeles Rams players Cincinnati Bengals players