Caleb Holmes became Pitt’s highest-ranked recruit when he committed earlier this month, and he’s gotten an even higher boost.
247Sports released its newest Top247 ranking Thursday, and Holmes jumped from 282 to 187. He’s the ninth-ranked interior offensive lineman and the 25th-ranked recruit from Georgia.
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Holmes — a 6-foot-3, 300-pound four-star interior offensive lineman from Creekside High in Georgia — committed to Pitt after his official visit, 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.”
Dave 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 current Pitt lineman (and former Creekside teammate) BJ 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.
Holmes is a big — literally — commit in Pitt’s class of 2024, and he’s drawing more and more attention after a stellar junior season at Creekside.
Holmes is the only Pitt commit in the new Top247 rankings, but recruits like four-star wide receiver DayDay Farmer, four-star defensive tackle Jahsear Whittington and four-star linebacker Cameron Lindsey are all hovering near the edge.
When it comes to Pitt targets who were ranked in the Top247, four-star wide receiver Nick Marsh was ranked 169th, but it appears his commitment is coming down to Michigan State and Penn State.
And the lone WPIAL recruit was four-star athlete Quinton Martin, who is committed to Penn State, at No. 47.