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3 Weeks Ago, Holmes Was Overly Happy with UW — Now He's Gone

The freshman safety was one of the top players in the 2023 class.
Dan Raley|
3 Weeks Ago, Holmes Was Overly Happy with UW — Now He's Gone
3 Weeks Ago, Holmes Was Overly Happy with UW — Now He's Gone

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Washington Huskies

Two days before the Sugar Bowl, the connection between the University of Washington football team and freshman safety Vincent Holmes was rock solid.

As the Huskies prepared to meet Texas in New Orleans, the 6-foot, 174-pound player expressed how pleased he was with his first-year development, which had brought him playing time on special teams against Michigan State, USC, Oregon State and Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.

Typical of the previous coaching staff, co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell had put the one-time 4-star recruit on the field in big games to get a taste of the action, especially against the Trojans, who had recruited Holmes hard out of San Jacinto, California.

"It was pretty fun, like something different being out there, with everybody having fun and flying down," Holmes said. "I never thought I'd be out there my freshman year. It was pretty exciting and I like it."

On Wednesday, Holmes joined the flood of UW players who have entered the transfer portal, now approaching two dozen, following the sudden coaching change from Kalen DeBoer to Jedd Fisch.  

Gone from the program was one of the top players from the Huskies' 2023 class and a potential starting candidate as early as next fall, especially with senior safety Dom Hampton using up his eligibility and fellow senior safety Asa Turner entering the transfer portal.

Just three weeks ago, Holmes was poised to make a big jump in UW football career and become a defensive mainstay. 

Now he's gone, largely because the program familiarity and comfort in Montlake for him went out the door when DeBoer uprooted everything to go to Alabama, though Morrell's future might not be in Tuscaloosa and remains unclear. 

It didn't seem to matter that Fisch and his Arizona coaching staff had previously recruited the Southern California safety, so they knew each other well.

"I like it over here," Holmes said of the UW as New Year's Day approached. "Coach Morrell is a great coach. The way he recruited me and everything, it was a big reason why I like made my decision here. Everything he did. I just liked him as as person and liked the school and everything."

Now Morrell's gone and so is Holmes as Husky football continues its radical and uncomfortable makeover. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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