The future is uncertain for Boise State RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio as the NFL Draft nears. But he knows, perhaps more than anyone, that uncertainty yields great opportunity. Habibi-Likio is no stranger to uncertainty. Through high school and college, it dominated his career. But like a true running back, Habibi-Likio just puts his head down. And when he sees a lane, he takes it.
Cyrus Habibi-Likio was born to play football
As soon as he enters the call, there’s a disarming energy that Habibi-Likio brings. He’s happy, exuberant, but also at peace. Not necessarily at peace with where he is now, but at peace with the opportunity he has in front of him. He knows what he can do and what football can allow him to do. It’s proven that to him already.
Habibi-Likio came from a football family. But playing football wasn’t just about legacy for the Palo Alto product. Football was an outlet — a way to channel a competitive mindset from an early age.
“Growing up in school, I was always a bigger kid. I would always just play how I would play. But I’d always get in trouble for rough-housing, and it was just how I would play. It was never like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go hurt this kid, that kid.’
“When I started playing football, I was hitting kids, and I wasn’t getting in trouble for it. I was just like, ‘Oh,’ like, you know, I can slam this guy on the ground, and I get applauded for it? Like, whoa. That was what made me really fall in love with it.”
Roots in Iranian and Tongan ancestry
Of course, football is about more than expressing physicality for Habibi-Likio. Over the years, he’s harbored an appreciation for the platform that football offers off the field in the community. Being a man of faith, Habibi-Likio emphasizes the desire to glorify God with his talents. But for Habibi-Likio, football is also about staying true to his core values — values imbued in him by his family in his early years.
Habibi-Likio’s maternal grandfather came to America from Iran. His paternal grandfather came from Tonga, in the South Pacific. That mix of cultures gave Habibi-Likio a unique upbringing. But as unique and independent as these cultures are, they instilled a similar value in kinship for Habibi-Likio.
“I feel like both cultures are very family-oriented,” Habibi-Likio said. “Respect is a huge aspect in that culture. For me, growing up, my parents — and my grandparents as well — were born back in their homeland. So in a way, in our household, I was growing up in a mini Iran or a mini Tonga.
“All the traditions — there’s a lot of rules, as far as respect. They’re both very big on representing their own people and achieving things with your country on your back.”
Going through the recruiting process
As Habibi-Likio pressed on with his football career, his talent began to shine. Soon enough, he was on the radar for college programs. He fielded interest from many teams in the western region and originally committed to Washington State in 2016. But as interest kept building, he soon re-opened his recruitment. It was overwhelming at times, but Habibi-Likio knew it meant he was getting noticed.
“It was a lot, being a 16-year-old kid, and just getting calls from different reporters and having these coaches you see on TV, and these big-time programs that you dreamed about like, ‘Man, I really want to play for them one day.’ And now, their head coach hitting you up like, ‘Hey, come here.'”
Choosing the Oregon Ducks
Specifically, Oregon was the dream program for Habibi-Likio. Growing up in Palo Alto, he went to Stanford games often. There, he saw the Ducks more than once. He remembered seeing their equipment truck drive into town with the wings on the side. He remembered watching fellow Polynesian quarterback Jeremiah Masoli hurling touchdown passes in hunter-green jerseys.
For Habibi-Likio, however, Oregon also presented a danger of the recruiting process. Especially for a young high schooler, parsing through all the noise can be difficult. In Habibi-Likio’s own words, you have to learn what’s real and what’s not.
“You have to see through all the bells and whistles. That’s what Oregon has a lot of — it’s a lot of flash. For me, it’s like, ‘If these guys didn’t have 20 uniforms, would I still want to go there? If these coaches left, would I still want to go there?'”
Those were important questions for Habibi-Likio. And the answer was yes for both.
“I took a visit there, and Eugene felt like home. It still does.”
Habibi-Likio’s career at Oregon
Coach Mark Helfrich was fired just a couple hours after Habibi-Likio’s home visit, and Willie Taggart left before his first bowl game. But Habibi-Likio didn’t choose Oregon for the coaches or the uniforms. He chose Oregon because it felt like home. And so it was, for a time.
Coming to Oregon was a humbling experience for Habibi-Likio. Long gone were the days of Pop Warner football, where touching the ball almost assured a score. Now, Habibi-Likio was being pushed around in practice. He was lifting heavy weight for the first time and fighting to keep up. But early on, he had a mentor presence who helped him along the way: Ducks legend and current NFL running back Royce Freeman.
“He just took me under his wing,” Habibi-Likio said of Freeman. “I was a little starstruck when I met him. I remember he invited me to the movies one day. And I was like, ‘Man, this guy wants to hang out with me,’ you know? So after that day, in the summer and throughout the season, I sat right next to him in meetings. He doesn’t know this, but after he’d leave [meetings], I’d open up his notebook and just copy everything. Just do what I could, you know?”
Earning a role with the Ducks
Even with hard work, it still took time for Habibi-Likio to earn his place. He redshirted in 2017 and only logged 18 carries in 2018 while also playing on special teams. But on those 18 carries, he earned 7 touchdowns in a goal-line role. That was enough for him to take on greater responsibility in 2019.
In 2019, Habibi-Likio emerged as a legitimate weapon for the Ducks. Primarily used in the red zone, he amassed 85 carries for 337 yards and 10 touchdowns. Reaching that individual milestone meant the world to him, but even more memorable was the Pac-12 Championship and the Rose Bowl, both of which Oregon won that year.
“I’m a West Coast guy,” Habibi-Likio said. “I grew up in Cali. The Rose Bowl is my Super Bowl.”
For Habibi-Likio, however, it wasn’t simply being there that made such an impression. Being able to contribute and help his team was most important. It never stopped being surreal for the California kid. This was the team he’d dreamed of playing for. And now, he was making plays for them.
“My boys were recording some of my runs on the TV and sending it to me, or tagging me in their stories. It was really cool to see. That 2019 season, so far, was my favorite season of all time. Such an unreal feeling.”
Not only did that 2019 season begin to unlock Habibi-Likio’s talents as a runner, but it also unearthed a newfound passion for pass protection — a passion that stemmed from responsibility, with future first-round pick Justin Herbert in the backfield alongside him.
“Any time it was a pass, I’m protecting $40 million. He’s the real deal. So it’s like, ‘Man, I can’t let this guy get touched.'”
Transferring to Boise State
Unfortunately for Habibi-Likio, his breakout in 2019 wasn’t a springboard to sustained success at Oregon. A COVID-impacted 2020 campaign — combined with the ascensions of players like CJ Verdell and Travis Dye — once again relegated Habibi-Likio to a reserve role.
As much as Habibi-Likio felt at home in Eugene, it was time for him to bet on himself. He wanted to expand his role from Oregon, to show his skills in the open field, catch the ball out of the backfield, and become more than a goal-line back. And he followed Andy Avalos and several other Oregon coaches to Boise State to do so.
The numbers don’t pop off the page, but Habibi-Likio did get the chance he was looking for. In his lone year at Boise State, he logged 107 carries for 374 yards and 2 scores. More importantly, he caught 23 passes — more than all three seasons at Oregon combined — and racked up over 200 receiving yards.
Habibi-Likio was grateful for the chance to learn a new offense and experiment with different identities in the running game. But more than anything, Habibi-Likio thinks his experience adjusting to a change of scenery at Boise State can help him in the NFL.
“To be able to build relationships with people in that short span of time was pretty satisfying to me. I know how the NFL is. You bounce around a lot. It’s just kind of how it is, especially at the running back position. So it was a taste of what I might experience. And to be able to thrive through that was awesome.”