2009 Game by Game (updated 12-14-09)
Florida Atlantic: Scored first points of season with second career TD on 28 yard catch-and-run... added three receptions for 45 yards. Arkansas State: Second on team with five receptions for 40 yards... one of 14 Huskers with a catch on the day. Virginia Tech: One of seven receivers with a catch, posting one reception for 13 yards. Louisiana-Lafayette: Did not record a catch. Missouri: Caught two balls for 26 yards, including long of 18. Texas Tech: Made two receptions, including a season-long 30-yarder from Cody Green... finished with 34 receiving yards. Iowa State: Recorded two catches for 17 yards. Baylor: Played on special teams but did not have a reception. Oklahoma: Played on special teams but did not have a catch. Kansas: Played but did not record a catch. Kansas State: Played but did not have a reception. Colorado: Played but did not record a catch. Texas: Played but did not record a catch.

2009 Outlook
Wide receiver Menelik (pronounced men-uh-Leak) Holt is expected to step into a leading role in the Nebraska receiving corps as a senior. A three-year letterwinner, the 6-4, 220-pound Holt will be asked to help fill a large void left by the graduation of 2008 senior receivers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson, who finished as two of the top five receivers in Nebraska school history.

Holt and junior Niles Paul are the most experienced Nebraska receivers heading into the 2009 campaign. Holt saw spot duty as a reserve each of his first two seasons, then provided an excellent complement to the Huskers' senior receiving duo last fall. He was fourth on the team in receptions and was one of a school-record seven players with at least 20 receptions.

Despite not having the benefit of a redshirt season, Holt is on track to complete his undergraduate work in sociology in August of 2010.

2008 (Junior)
Holt has seen extensive action over the past three seasons, including a strong 2008 campaign when he emerged as a reliable receiving threat in the Husker offense. One of a school-record seven players with at least 20 catches, the San Diego native was fourth on the team with 30 receptions for 355 yards and a touchdown. His numbers came despite being slowed for much of the latter part of the season by a knee injury.

Overall, Holt played in 12 games in 2008, missing only the Oklahoma game following a knee injury. Nebraska regularly utilized three or more receivers and Holt was in the starting lineup against Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Colorado. He had four games with five or more catches and snagged a 20-yard touchdown reception against Missouri.

He opened the year with five catches for 59 yards against Western Michigan, and had five catches for a career-high 67 yards against Missouri. Holt grabbed a career-high six catches for 55 yards in a near-miss at Texas Tech, then added five catches for 45 yards at Iowa State. Holt was injured after one catch vs. Baylor and did not have a catch for the next three games. He closed the regular season with three catches for 42 yards against Colorado and added two against Clemson in the Gator Bowl.

2007 (Sophomore)
Holt saw action in all 12 games, both as a reserve at the "X" receiver spot and on special teams. He saw his playing time increase late in the season and made the most of his opportunity. Holt caught four passes for 97 yards in the season’s final four games, the first catches of his career. He caught a 13-yard pass at Kansas, then followed with a career-long 35-yard catch against Kansas State. In the season finale at Colorado, Holt had two catches for 49 yards.

2006 (Freshman)
Holt appeared in eight games, including duty on the punt block and kickoff coverage squads. He also saw reserve action at receiver, but did not have a catch. Holt played in three of Nebraska’s first four games and saw action in five of the final six contests, including the Cotton Bowl against Auburn. Holt helped Nebraska rank among the national leaders in kickoff return defense.

Before Nebraska (St. Augustine HS)
Holt was a standout performer at San Diego’s St. Augustine High School, where he caught 62 passes for a league-leading 790 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior. On defense, Holt recorded 17 tackles, including a league-leading 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception. He also played special teams, returning seven kickoffs for 127 yards. His performance earned Holt first-team Medium School all-state honors, as Coach Jerry Ralph’s St. Augustine Saints won the CIF 2005 Division III title.

Holt earned first-team all-league honors as a junior, catching 42 passes for 726 yards and 12 touchdowns, while adding an interception return for a touchdown. Holt was ranked among the top 50 receivers in the country by Rivals.com and PrepStar and among the top 60 players in California.

Holt played center for the St. Augustine basketball team, and as a junior, he averaged 10 points and 16 rebounds a game, while setting the school record for rebounds in a playoff game with 22. He led St. Augustine to both San Diego Section and Southern California Regional Division III titles before losing in the state finals.

Personal
Menelik is the son of the late Mary Holt and Alfred Jones, and was born on Aug. 19, 1988. His half-brother, Austin Jones, is a redshirt freshman I-back for the Huskers. Menelik is majoring in economics and was a volunteer on several of Nebraska’s hospital visits.

Holt's Career Statistics