Holmes will start at tight end for the 2nd straight year in 2003 after sitting out part of spring ball with a back sprain. Known for his great hands and his ability as a blocker, he had 29 catches for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2002.

From www.USCTROJANS.com

2002: Holmes started at tight end and also played on special teams as a junior in 2002. Overall in 2002 while appearing in all 13 games, he had 29 receptions for 320 yards (11.0 avg.) with 2 TDs, plus he made 5 tackles. His 29 catches in 2002 were the most by a USC tight end since Brad Banta had 31 in 1993. He had a career-high 6 catches for 50 yards (with a 2-yard TD) against Arizona State. He also caught 5 passes for a career-best 65 yards against California, 4 passes for 45 yards against Oregon State and 3 receptions against Washington State (19 yards, Stanford (57 yards, including a 22-yard TD), Notre Dame (44 yards) and Iowa in the Orange Bowl (27 yards).

2001: Holmes saw lots of action as just a sophomore in 2001 as the backup tight end behind Kori Dickerson. Overall in 2001 while appearing in all 12 games, he had 22 receptions for 166 yards (7.5 avg.) with 2 TDs. He had 3 catches against UCLA (37 yards), Oregon State (17 yards, including a difficult 9-yarder on third-and-8 from the Beaver 12-yard line to set up USC's winning TD in overtime), San Jose State (15 yards) and Arizona (14 yards), and 2 grabs versus Washington (24 yards), Utah (16 yards), Kansas State (13 yards) and Arizona State (11 yards). He caught his first career TD (a 4-yarder) against Arizona State and added a 1-yard TD at Arizona.

2000: Holmes saw significant action as a backup tight end to Antoine Harris as a freshman in 2000, his first year at USC. Overall, he caught 7 passes for 53 yards (7.6 avg.), plus returned a kickoff for 6 yards as an up-man (against Washington State) and threw an incomplete pass on a trick play at UCLA. His 7 receptions came in 7 different games: Penn State (1 yard), San Jose State (15 yards), Arizona (6 yards), California (13 yards), Arizona State (5 yards), Washington State (6 yards) and Notre Dame (7 yards). He made the 2000 The Sporting News Freshman All-American second team.

PERSONAL: He's a social science/economics major at USC. His father, Mike, lettered at defensive end at Michigan in 1974 and 1975. His workout partner is NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson (he says Dickerson is his sports hero and says his favorite sports moment was watching Dickerson get enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame). He volunteers with the Special Olympics.