Ralph Holley's path to becoming a defensive tackle with the Grey Cup champions, the Toronto Argonauts, has been an interesting one.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1999, Holley started playing football at St. Mary Preparatory Catholic high school in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
“I was always too big to play, so I had to like sit out for like my middle school years because I was always over the weight limit to play and everything like that thing of being a bigger guy, so, you know, it's whatever. I actually didn’t start playing until I got to high school,” he said.
His playing career started as a running back and linebacker.
“I ended up playing. I was actually a running back and a linebacker at first. So, I played running back and linebacker for two years, and then I got moved up, actually,” he said.
Holley was a multi-sport athlete who did track and football, and received Division Two and Division Three scholarships in track.
He graduated from high school with three state championships in football and two in track and field
But football always had his heart, and his mind was made up he was going to play Division One football for the Western Michigan Broncos; he ended up playing four seasons, while becoming a first team all-conference from his second to final season with the Broncos.
“I want to play football, so I ended up going to Western Michigan. I didn't red shirt there. I played my first year there, which was awesome, and then my second year at Western, I ended up being first team all-conference, and then I was all-conference every year from there on,” he said.
Holley then entered the 2022 NFL Draft but was not drafted. The Chicago Bears picked him up later, but it didn’t last as long as he expected.
Holley bounced around until his playing career took an unexpected turn.
After two seasons with the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL), Holley was released.
“I got a chance to be with the Chicago Bears after college, I was with them, through mini-camps. I was only with them for a couple of days, and then I went to the USFL, which was before the UFL. It was called the USFL, which is the United States Football League. It's like a G League almost of the NFL, in grad school terms. But yeah, I went there, and then, I did really good there. My second year there, I ended up dislocating my elbow, and they released me. They cut me from the team,” he said.
Looking for his next job, Holley became a substitute teacher and was able to keep football in his life, this time as a coach.
“I don't have any place to work and everything, so I ended up being a substitute teacher, and I was a football coach for a middle school team,” he said.
Even though he became a substitute teacher and coach, and didn’t have very much financially. However, the change in career did not stop him from chasing his dream.
“I was staying with my parents and I was paying for training, that's the only with my substitute teaching cheques. So that's the only way that I was doing it, man, and I was just staying persistent, man, and I just didn't, I didn't know what was gonna happen. I was like, I'm gonna give it one more go, go. Like, I'm gonna keep training,” he said.
A second chance at the game he loves with all his heart would soon come knocking, and that opportunity would be in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Toronto Argonauts.
“I got a call from, from the Argos saying, 'You want to try out? You want to do a trial just for camp, like we'll bring you in, see how you look and everything.' I was like, one more go at football. It's not going to hurt you. I was about to start actually getting into my career. I was just like, you know, let's chop it up for the boys. Let's do it,” he said.
He joined the Argos in 2023, Holley wouldn’t play for the team that season but would stay on the roster for training camp in 2024.
Holley would make a strong enough impression in training camp, and make the practice squad roster.
He didn’t get in the action until week three, where he created a memory he will remember forever.
“I sat out for three games because I was on the practice roster, and then I got my opportunity. I never forget my first game playing, we played against Edmonton at home, and my first game playing, I got a sack, which was absolutely crazy,” he said.
Holley would then take that game and continue to build on it and have a career year, and led not only the Argonauts, but the Canadian Football League in sacks with nine, in his rookie year.
“And from then on, it just went. I started getting two sacks a game, three sacks a game. And I end up, leading the league in sacks that year as a rookie in the CFL, which was absolutely insane,” he said.
On top of that, the Argonauts would go on to win the Grey Cup, in Holley's rookie year, and he would go on to get two sacks in the playoffs and become a champion.
“We won the Grey Cup also, which was insane in 2024, like, once in a lifetime experience, hopefully it's gonna happen again,” he said.
But there was no time to celebrate for Holley, as he was getting calls to go back to the National Football League (NFL).
“I didn't even get a time to celebrate my team because literally right after that, I had almost, I think it was 9 and 10 NFL teams calling me, calling my agent I had the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, the Saints, Tennessee Titans, and some other ones I forgot, but I was flying out twice a week to work out and meet the coaches for all these teams,” he said.
Holley ended up in Cleveland with the Browns, but it didn't go as well as he had hoped.
“I ended up choosing Cleveland. And I was in Cleveland for a bit. I was there through mini-camp, and then I got, I played a couple games during the season, and then, they had basically, they had put me on like a release, but they brought me back. They brought me back, released me like three, four times, which is crazy, and I was like, I'm not doing this again,” he said.
Because of the frustrations he experienced in Cleveland, Holley said he re-evaluated his position with the Browns, Then he received a call to return to what he calls his "second' home
“I was looking at my options, and then they, they did call my agent, and they were like, you know, we would love to have you back up here. We're trying to revamp the team, you know, new head coach, all this stuff. So then I took it. I came back to Toronto and like, you know, the city welcomed me with open arms, I love Toronto as my second home,” he said.
Holley hopes to bring the Grey Cup back to Toronto next season.
“Hopefully it's gonna happen again. I'm praying they're trying to bring it back this year, you know? Bring a Grey Cup back to the six this year,” he said.
