INDIANAPOLIS — As Dallin Holker was contemplating the next big move in a young life filled with big moves, he at least didn’t have to search far for a trusted advisor.
His wife Taye was nearly in the same situation.
Holker was a backup tight end at BYU who had 9 catches for 86 yards through three games in 2022 when he surprised the Cougars’ program by walking away after Game 3 to enter the transfer portal.
Taye Raymond Holker was a sprinter and long jumper at BYU who ran the 200 meter in 24.00 seconds and long jumped 20 feet, 1/4 inch but wasn’t getting the chance to compete as much she would have liked.
So like her husband, Taye entered the transfer portal. They both wound up at Colorado State for the 2023 school year.
“Pretty much me and my wife prayed about it,’’ Holker said here Thursday at his NFL Combine press conference when asked to explain the reasons behind his transfer. “My wife ran track there and she was looking for another opportunity as well. We felt like the best opportunity for both of us – I wasn’t getting the opportunities I felt like I deserved, and she wasn’t either. It just worked out for both of us and we’re glad that we did it.”
In three seasons at BYU – 2018, then a two-year mission trip split between Chile and Yakima, Washington, followed by 2021 and parts of 2022 back on the football field – Holker had 42 catches for 521 yards and 3 touchdowns combined.
In one 2023 season at Colorado State, Holker had 64 catches – including multiple 10 o’clock highlight variety – for 767 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Taye improved her long jump by 5 inches last year at CSU, to 20 feet, 5 ¼.
So consider the switch from BYU to Colorado State a great decision by the Holkers. But not the greatest. The best move Dallin ever made was that two-year mission trip. As 9NEWS viewers learned in late September through a story reported by Jacob Tobey, the mission trip is where he met Taye. And received so much more.
“That helped me out with everything,’’ Holker said. “My maturity, time management. That was the most important moment of my life. To be able to work with every type of person and being able to communicate, it's helped me out a lot. … It’s an amazing experience. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had.”
It wasn’t easy at first.
“Leaving your family for two years, it’s pretty tough,’’ Holker said. “When I was learning Spanish, it was pretty tough. I didn’t know any Spanish before I left so I had to learn from the streets there.’’
The COVID pandemic shut down his mission trip to Chile after a year. Holker was then reassigned to Yakima, where his Spanish came in handy.
“They have a lot of apple fields so they have a lot of workers come up from Mexico,’’ he said. “All the areas I was in I spoke more Spanish than I did English.’’
Sporting long, light brown hair and a thick beard (“I’ve had a few people say I look like Jesus and then a few people say I look like Thor, too. This is the first time I ever had long hair and I’m planning on keeping it for a little bit.”), Holker can’t wait to compete against the best of the best at the NFL Combine.
“It’s something you dream about. Everybody says it’s a long process -- I could do it all day,’’ Holker said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment. It’s a fun process, getting to know the coaches and having them ask questions. You never know what they’re going to ask you, so you have to be on your toes, so I think it’s cool.”
Measuring 6-foot-3, 241 pounds, Holker is considered a mid- to late-round prospect with the ability to play fullback. Like all prospects who served a mission, Holker is older than most players here, as he will turn 24 before the NFL Draft is held in late April. He did meet with the Broncos during his East-West Shrine Game week last month.
“I’d be happy anywhere, honestly, but I loved my time in Fort Collins and Colorado,’’ Holker said. “It’s a nice place. I love it there.”
When he was growing up in Kentucky and then Utah, Holker said his favorite tight end was Rob Gronkowski.
"But now I watch Travis Kelce as much as I can,'' Holker said. "Every season I’ve been in college I get every play that he’s ran. I watch it. I watch it multiple times in a year, so I’ve probably watched every single one of his plays for the last four or five years.”
The Broncos consider a pass-catching tight end to be among their top non-quarterback priorities this offseason. If the top tight ends in free agency get too expensive, perhaps the Broncos can find value in the third to fifth rounds with a tight end like Holker.
**See Holker chat and joke with 9NEWS Sports Anchor Scotty Gange above**
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