A retired NFL wide receiver from North Texas is close to beginning an unexpected career. Rashard Higgins will be putting on a different type of uniform.
Hollywood Higgins
Years before becoming a standout wide receiver at Mesquite High School, people close to Higgins knew he was destined for bright lights.
“It was PeeWee. My coach, his name was Coach Chris. I was out there making plays and he was like, ‘Man, you keep making plays, I’m gonna call you Hollywood.’ Kept on making plays,” he said.
The playmaking continued all the way to the NFL.
Hollywood Higgins was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2016. And touchdown after touchdown, he and his teammates celebrated by rolling out the red carpet.
It was a change of pace for Higgins, who said his life growing up in Mesquite was a bit rough.
“You know, I know how it feels to go to school just so you can have your next meal. You know, I know that feeling,” he said.
In the NFL, however, Higgins had “made it.”
“You know, and then once I got there it was, ‘How long can you stay?’” he said.
The wide receiver stayed for seven seasons and caught more than 130 passes for nearly 2,000 yards. But after announcing his retirement in 2024, Higgins questioned: what’s next?
“Just being so accustomed to playing football all my life, and then you get to a point where it’s just done. A team might not want you, you know you’re still working out, and it’s like you might get a call, and you might not. Am I working out for no reason? Or, like, what am I doing? And so, it just got to a point where like, ‘What do I do next?’ You know, looking for purpose, looking for a sense of ‘Who am I?’ I started seeking God, started reading my Bible, and God revealed it to me,” he said.
A New Uniform
Higgins’ plan for his future is a different but somewhat similar route. He’s working to become a Dallas firefighter.
“They say, to be on a fire department, you eat, sleep, and train just like football all over again,” he said. “To be able to save someone, man, that’s what it’s all about.”
The leadership at Dallas Fire-Rescue said there are many similarities between team sports and firefighting. But in firefighting, lives are on the line.
“I want it to be something that you and I are going in on this call. I don’t care what you’ve done before, I don’t care who you are — I just need to know that you’ve got my back and I’ve got yours,” said Lt. Kelly Campbell, with Dallas Fire-Rescue.
In sports, there is a phrase, “One game at a time.” The same goes for firefighting.
“One thing that we’re focusing on and that’s just winning the day. You know we go in, we work hard, we get everything done that we need to, and we win the day,” Higgins said. “This was my calling, you know, I prayed on it.”
Higgins said his three kids are more impressed with his new job than the NFL.
“When you see a fire truck when you’re young, it kind of strikes your attention,” he said.
So, for kids in North Texas, Higgins wants his newfound career to serve as a reminder to what might unexpectedly be wide open.
“Keep chasing your dream and don’t give up. You never know what God got in store for you on the other side if you give up,” he said.
Higgins began at the Dallas Fire Academy in May and recently finished that phase of training. He must still complete his EMT and paramedic training before he can work in the field.