Sometimes a successful athletic career requires a GPS-style rerouting.
Former Northwestern Lehigh Tigers football standout Justin Holmes has played for four different head coaches, learned four offensive systems and transitioned between three positions along the way.
After stops at Kent State Golden Flashes and Marshall Thundering Herd, Holmes played his senior season at Pittsburgh Panthers, where he recently caught six passes for 100 yards in a loss to East Carolina in the Go Bowling Military Bowl.
“I only had 30 yards at the half,” Holmes said. “In the second half, I was open underneath the secondary and our quarterback targeted me more often.”
At Pitt, Holmes finished the season with 28 receptions for 301 yards and four touchdowns. During two seasons at Kent State, he caught 20 passes for 188 yards. At Marshall, he recorded one reception for 11 yards.
At Northwestern, under head coach Josh Snyder, Holmes was a wide receiver and linebacker during his first two seasons before switching to quarterback as a junior and senior.
“We had Deven Bollinger as our quarterback during Justin’s first two years,” Snyder said. “Our philosophy is to put the best athlete behind center, and we picked him to replace Bollinger. The transition Justin made was very fluid.”
Holmes’ high school statistics were exceptional. As a receiver, he caught 36 passes for 901 yards and 14 touchdowns. At quarterback, he threw for 2,675 yards and 34 touchdowns while rushing for 2,480 yards and scoring 33 more times. In all, he accounted for more than 6,000 total yards and 81 touchdowns for the Tigers. Holmes was a three-time All-State selection, and the Times News Player of the Year.
“Justin was a joy to coach,” Snyder said. “His performance at Northwestern speaks for itself. He contributed so much to our team’s success.”
“I loved playing for Coach Snyder,” Holmes said. “He was the biggest reason for all the success my teammates and I had there.”
Heavily recruited as a quarterback, wide receiver and linebacker, Holmes chose Kent State to continue his football career and quickly learned he would need to adjust to yet another role.
“They wanted me to play tight end,” Holmes said. “I never had to block much in high school, so I had to learn footwork, hand leverage and the mentality needed to play the position. I also bulked up from about 205 pounds to 245.”
Holmes was not redshirted at Kent State, but after a 1-11 season, he decided to enter the transfer portal in search of a better opportunity and landed at Marshall. While his on-field experience there was disappointing, Holmes excelled academically. Carrying his credits from Kent State, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.
“I went back into the transfer portal and received five offers,” Holmes said. “A big factor in choosing Pitt was that I’d be closer to home.
“I’m working on my master’s degree at Pitt now,” he added, “but I’m also training for Pro Day to see if I can get drafted into the NFL.”
Moving from school to school and position to position, Holmes has already shown the adaptability needed should his future plans change. Still, his aspirations remain rooted in football.
“If my playing days are over, I’ll set my sights on coaching at the college level,” Holmes said. “My ultimate goal is to become an NFL scout and general manager.”
Holmes has navigated a jungle of challenges that might have caused others to walk away from the game they loved. He’s been a Tiger, a Golden Flashes player, a Thundering Herd member and now a Panther.
With those proud and fearsome mascots on his résumé, Holmes is determined to keep pushing forward — and there’s a strong chance his journey is far from finished.
Northwestern Lehigh graduate Justin Holmes carries the ball during Pittsburgh’s game against Stanford in November. PHOTO COURTESY JEFFREY GAMZA/UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH