Inside The Huskies

Vince Holmes Signs With Big 12 Team, Has Chance to Start Over

The safety played in 29 games at Washington and started twice.
Dan Raley|
Vince Holmes has tried to put his Rutgers snafu behind him.
Vince Holmes has tried to put his Rutgers snafu behind him. | Dave Sizer photo

Vince Holmes has all of the physical talent necessary to be a top college football safety. At the University of Washington, however, he wasn't alway in the right place on the field and that held him back.

On Saturday, the 6-foot, 190-pound junior signed with Oklahoma State, starting over with a Big 12 team that is dong the same -- trying to push aside the disappointment of an 1-11 season and a last-place finish.

Holmes is willing to take on that considerable challenge by playing for a new coach in Eric Morris, who twice previously was as an assistant at Washington State and comes to the Cowboys after a successful head-coaching run at North Texas.

For Holmes, it's chance for him to become a focal player after appearing in 29 games for the Huskies and starting just twice.

Husky safeties coach described Holmes as having NFL potential with his speed and hard-hitting style, yet noted how the San Jacinto, California, product didn't always end up in doing the right thing in a consistent manner.

Sometimes he let his emotions get the best of them with the game in full throttle.

Not to pick at old wounds, but Holmes will be remembered as the guy who let the excitement get the best of him when ran onto the field at Rutgers after the Huskies blocked a field goal and the play was still ongoing.

The officials awarded the ball back to the Scarlet Knights, who pushed across a late first-half touchdown rather give up possession in a game Rutgers would win 21-18. No one said Holmes cost his team the game out loud, but he wasn't a big help when flags were flying.

Otherwise, he handled himself well in 2024 in a 26-21 victory over USC, which had recruited him hard, while making his first career college start that day. He was right where he should have been all game long.

Vince Holmes blends into Penn State's White-Out crowd.
Vince Holmes blends into Penn State's White-Out crowd. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Holmes drew another start this past season against Oregon, yet now he's headed for Stillwater, Oklahoma, to a once-proud team that hit unfathomable depths and fired its long-time coach in Mike Gundy.

He should understand that it's going to be a rebuild like nothing he's ever experienced before, including the Huskies having to rework their roster in 2024 following a national championship runner-up finish and finishing 6-7.

Holmes needs to show he's worthy of the next level with solid play if given the chance to start on a full-time basis.

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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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