Broncos' Holliday makes quick impact

• Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey says Trindon Holliday is likely the fastest teammate he's ever had
• Holliday has scored on returns in consecutive weeks
• Denver has begun working Holliday into the offense

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- There is track speed and football speed. And then there is Trindon Holliday speed, as the Denver Broncos have discovered in recent weeks.

The newest Bronco has scored touchdowns in each of the last two games, one each on a kickoff return and a punt return.

"He's an explosive player," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "Probably the fastest I've ever played with."

Bailey once ran a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash and admitted , even in his prime, he likely couldn't have kept up with Holliday, a track and field star at Louisiana State who won an NCAA 100-meter dash title in 2009.

It was after winning that title Holliday decided to focus on football — and trying to become one of athletes to successfully translate their speed on the track to speed on grass. It helped, Holliday said, that he had played both sports while growing up in Zachary, La., and competed in both in college.

Yet, at only 5-5, he has largely been a fringe NFL player. The sixth-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2010 spent his rookie year on injured reserve because of a broken thumb. He bounced off and on the Texans' practice squad last year.

He was a preseason sensation, however, this year, with three return touchdowns in exhibition games, but he underperformed during the first six weeks of the regular season.

"I think it was tougher, guys were competing harder," Holliday said. "After the preseason I definitely wasn't a secret anymore."

But when the Texans needed a roster spot in October to replace injured linebacker Brian Cushing, they figured they would slip Holliday through waivers and stash him back on the practice squad.

The Broncos spoiled those plans. In claiming Holliday, the Broncos appear to have filled one of their biggest voids. Safety Jim Leonhard showed sure hands while filling in, but he didn't scare opposing coverage units.

Holliday was the opposite.

"Every time he touches the ball, it's a chance for him to break one. He's able to make something happen when there's nothing," said Broncos safety David Bruton, one of the team's top special teams players.

Yet, the thrilling returns were only part of the reason he is might as well be called "Heart Attack Holliday." He fumbled his first punt return opportunity for the Broncos on Oct. 15 in San Diego, and dropped the ball just short of the goal line last week in Carolina at the end of his 76-yard punt return for a score.

The play was not reviewed, but the NFL announced Monday it should have been ruled a touchback (the ball rolled out of the end zone and out of bounds) and not a touchdown. A week earlier, he had flipped the ball out of his hands in the Cincinnati end zone just after scoring on a 105-yard kickoff return.

"The second time, I could have sworn I was across the goal line. I felt like I was across," Holliday said.

That mistake led to what is being called the "Holliday Rule" at the Broncos' facility. On any future scores, Holliday is under orders to keep the ball in his hands until he delivers it to special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers on the sideline.

It has become a running joke, but the Broncos have big plans for Holliday, and not just on special teams. He saw the first offensive snaps of his career in Carolina, with two catches for 17 yards on back-to-back snaps.

"It feels good to know the coaches trust me," Holliday said. "I was worried people would only see me as a return man."