Pitt FB Recruiting
‘There’s No Other Place Like It’: 2024 4-Star OL Caleb Holmes Commits to Pitt
I asked Caleb Holmes for the reason why he committed to Pitt. He one-upped me. He told me I should’ve asked what reason he didn’t have to commit.
Holmes — a 6-foot-3, 300-pound four-star interior offensive lineman from Creekside High in Georgia — committed to Pitt last Saturday before flying home, picking Pitt over offers from Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia Tech, James Madison, LSU, Louisville, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and UCF.
“There was nothing that I saw that moved me the wrong way, swayed me away or made me not wanna be there,” Holmes told PSN. “I didn’t see anything that I didn’t wanna deal with. Everything that I saw was a plus, a positive. Just the whole environment of the school. And, you know, you take that and compare it to the other schools I’ve been to, you know I’ve been all around the country and there’s no other place like it.
“There’s no other place that I’ve seen that has the environment that Pittsburgh does. Not to sound cliche or anything, but I really didn’t have a reason not to commit. I got brothers up there, a winning program, they’ve sent offensive linemen to the league, top rushing program in the ACC last season. Top-tier education, you know, academics are on point. The whole life skills program. It’s just a complete program. I could go on and on about everything that I had learned this weekend.”
1000000% committed 🔵🟡 @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachMac38 @coachdixon54 pic.twitter.com/ErME2u3Y9u
— Caleb Holmes (@CalebHolmes05) June 11, 2023
Pitt was one of the first schools to offer Holmes, with Archie Collins extending an offer back on Oct. 5, 2021. It came after Collins came down to get a look at Holmes in person at a Georgia camp over the summer. Collins called Dixon about a few of the Creekside guys he had seen and eventually called back to extend Holmes an offer.
It certainly paid off as Dave Borbely and Holmes built a strong relationship, which only grew stronger as Holmes spent the weekend in Pittsburgh.
It helps, of course, that Holmes’ best friend BJ Williams is from Creekside. The two played side by side last season, left tackle and left guard on the Creekside offensive line, and Williams hosted Holmes on his visit. Rashad Battle also went to Creekside while Holmes was rising through the system.
And that Creekside bond was a draw, but Holmes was able to bond with the entire Pitt community during his visit.
“The assumption is that college players are gonna be as nice as possible,” Holmes said. “They’re going to put on the best show for the recruits. But actually having that personal connection to both of them guys, being up the field with them, watching Rashad play back when I was in sixth, seventh grade, playing right next to BJ, knowing they were going to give me honest feedback.
“They were gonna keep it real with me no matter what the circumstance was. And their honest answers and honest feelings about the school, which is a thousand percent positive, it was a thousand percent home. Thousand percent brotherhood, you know, thousand percent they gonna take care of you. And those are just real outlooks that I got. From, you know, my brothers, people that I went to war with, that just gives it another layer of respect for the school that I have personal connections with them.”
That connection may one day carry directly onto the football field, with Holmes and Williams lining up beside each other again.
Borbely loves Holmes’ aggression, whether it’s from his time at right tackle or at left guard throughout his time at Creekside, and he certainly loves his first step — his quickness in a 6-foot-3, 300-pound frame. “He likes how I move guys off the line,” Holmes said. “When he told me he analyzed my film, I think one of the things I point out is me dragging dudes 10, 15 yards down the field.”
Holmes models himself off Williams actually. As he’s watched Williams work on and off the field at Creekside over the last few seasons, he’s seen things he hasn’t seen from any other high school football player. There’s a certain level of respect and admiration that Holmes has for Williams.
247Sports rates Holmes as the 183rd-ranked recruit in the class (seventh-ranked interior offensive lineman and 25th-ranked recruit from Georgia) while On3 rates him as the 258th-ranked recruit in the class (19th-ranked interior offensive lineman and 31st-ranked recruit from Georgia).
Rivals rates him as the 15th-ranked offensive guard and the 51st-ranked recruit from Georgia — holding a 5.7 Rivals Rating.
Holmes is Pitt’s third offensive line commit, joining three-stars Adham Abouraya and Jiavani Cooley, and he’s the new highest-rated recruit in the class as a whole. He’s the kind of cornerstone interior offensive lineman that can be built around down the line. He’s also the second of four June 1-3 visitors to officially announce his commitment.
So, what does it mean to be the newest Panther?
“That’s something that me and my mama came home and had a very long conversation about,” Holmes said. “Something that I prayed over. She prayed over. I mean, it’s my next step. But I feel like the reason that I committed a day is because it really has felt like home.”
Wow, his reel was really fun to watch. Plays mean and super aggressive. Holmes should be a 5-Star. Nice get H2P!
H2P.