Renz
An Army of One
MaoTosiFanClub said:Good call!
HOLMES IS A CAT!!
By Chris Bonney
Football Editor
Date: Dec 15, 2005
In two years under head coach Mike Stoops the Arizona Football program has made big gains on the field so far. Offensively and defensively the coaching staff has laid the foundation for the future of Arizona Football. The foundations for successful programs are built on the road and on the recruiting trail. So far Mike Stoops and his staff have recruited at a level never before seen by Wildcat fans. In just the span of two days the announcements of two 5-Star commitments have been made public.
Just moments ago Scottsdale Community College 5-Star defensive end Louis Holmes announced that he will sign with the University of Arizona. Holmes chose the Cats over USC, LSU, Florida, Florida State and Oklahoma among others. Holmes was kind enough to give CatTracks.net a full interview where he spoke candidly about his commitment.
“I committed to Mike Stoops when I was still down there on my official,” Holmes told CatTracks Wednesday night. “Coach Stoops was really happy and he was real excited. I only committed to him because I wanted everyone else to find out at my press conference tomorrow. We started talking about the future of Arizona Football and where I fit in and everything. I am a Wildcat.”
Holmes said that it came as a tough choice and was ultimately between Arizona and USC for his services. Actually up until his official visit to the U of A he was seriously considering committing to the Trojans.
“Until like last Wednesday or Thursday I was really thinking a lot about it,” he said candidly. “Coach Carroll was here last Monday and it was a great visit and I was going to go to USC for an unofficial and if I went I probably would have committed then. But I decided to set the official with U of A and the rest is history really. It all just started coming down last Thursday and I just felt that U of A was the best place for me all of a sudden.”
The reasoning behind the official visit for Holmes was to get a different feel for Tucson.
“I have been down there so many times but it is always unofficial visits to see friends and stuff,” Holmes said. “I wanted to go on the official so I could just get a different feel and maybe see some things that I hadn’t before. I knew before I went down that I was pretty sure I wanted to go to U of A but the visit just made it complete.”
Louis went on to say that his visit could not have gone any better. He was able to see some things that he hadn’t before and he was able to just get to know the coaches more than he had before.
“The people down there have always been great,” he said. “I have always gotten along with the coaches and stuff but on the official I was able to talk more to them and spend more good time with them and I just developed that great comfort level with them and the school.”
Holmes added that the overall comfort level with Arizona was a big factor in his decision to be a Wildcat among other things.
“Being here in Arizona for two years and going down there I just had a much better comfort level,” he admitted. “I liked all of the coaches that recruited me and everything but I know that the U of A coaches care about their players. They all do and they show it and you can tell that it isn’t fake.”
The big defensive end was being recruited by Arizona Linebackers coach Tim Kish, who recruits the Phoenix area for the Wildcats. Holmes says that he and Kish have a good relationship and that Kish is a solid recruiter.
“Coach Kish is a relentless recruiter man,” he said with a laugh. “He can really sell the program. He never talks bad about other schools or anything he just sells you on his school and he sold me on Arizona. He is a great recruiter and a good coach. He cares about his guys.”
Holmes joins Gabe Long as the two 5-Star commitments for Arizona to date. They are arguably the biggest recruits in the history of Arizona Football and Holmes is looking forward to playing with Long.
“Man, it’s gonna be reckless,” he said about the future of the Arizona defensive line. “Playing with Gabe is going to be great. I played with some good tackles here but Gabe is another level man. Gabe and I have the chance to spend two years together helping bring back the tradition of Arizona defense. We get to play for two years together and get better together.”
Ultimately it came down to comfort level for Holmes, like he said, but there was one other thing that Holmes just could not pass up.
“Man playing for Mike Stoops is gonna be great,” he said. “He is building something down there and I want to be a part of it. I am just a big piece to a much bigger puzzle and we are gonna get it done in Tucson. I am excited to be a Wildcat.”
Holmes is the second 5-Star prospect to commit to the Cats this week and the 5th overall to give his verbal commitment in the same span.
Cat Tracks will have full video of Holmes’ press conference later today as well as a one on one video interview with the man himself.
BEARDOWN ARIZONA
