2024 NFL Draft Profile: Boise State RB George Holani

A key piece of the Boise State offense over the last five years, running back George Holani now looks to secure a place in the pro ranks.

While Holani did miss more than a handful of games in his time in the Treasure Valley, but he still managed to be one of the most productive rushers in the history of the blue turf.

Here are the other important things to know about the physical Bronco running back. 

Background

Measurements: 5'10" - 208 pounds

Born in New Zealand, Holani's family immigrated to the Los Angeles area when he was a child. He took quickly to football, earning a four-star rating by 247Sports coming out of St. John Bosco High School. 

He was an impact player right away, earning Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year Honors in 2019. He rushed for over 1,014 yards that season with ten total touchdowns. Holani missed part of 2020 due to injury, taking a redshirt and appearing in three of Boise State's seven games.

In 2021, Holani was Boise State's leading rusher with 569 yards. He missed three games that season. He bounced back in a big way in 2022, topping 1,000 rushing yards for a second time in his college career. Holani had 1,390 all-purpose yards that season. His final season saw him miss five of Boise State's games once again, but contribute 748 yards in a dual-back attack with Ashton Jeanty. 

Holani finished his career at Boise State with 3,596 rushing yards, fifth in program history.

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The Strengths

Holani's physical strength is nothing short of impressive. Is easy to see why scouts believe he'd be a good fit as a third down back or a short-yardage specialist. In the last two seasons, Holani ran the ball on third down with less than three yards to go on 28 occasions. He picked up a first down on 22 of those attempts - that's 78% of the time.

He also had his fair share of longer runs, usually refusing to go down on the first hit. In five seasons and 47 games at BSU, Holani had 86 runs of at least ten yards. If he breaks past the second level, he's great at breaking through arm tackles. In 13 different games, he had a run of at least 30 yards.

Several lower body injuries, including an MCL injury in 2020, kept Holani's production from being even greater over the course of his career. He looked to be all healed up towards the end of this past season, but the beating the body of an NFL running back takes is concerning for someone who has already put themselves through the wringer, in that regard.