Darick Holmes, Jr. is a three-star running back out of Newbury Park, California. He comes from a football family, as his father, Darick Holmes (pictured above), was an NFL running back who played five seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, and Indianapolis Colts. Holmes, Jr. chose the Arizona Wildcats over offers from Washington, UCLA, Arizona State, San Diego State, and Colorado State.
Above all, Holmes is extremely versatile. In fact, as a senior, Holmes spent the majority of his time playing at wide receiver, primarily working out of the slot. He finished the year with 762 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns while only racking up 189 yards on the ground. Holmes also played defensive back, though he is likely to play on offense at Arizona.
Unsurprisingly, Holmes is a very good pass catcher. He’s also extremely fast and can make defenders miss when he gets the ball out in space. However, he is very small and unable to handle extended carries at running back. While Rich Rod’s affinity for small, fast running backs is well-known -- Steve Slaton and Nick Wilson immediately come to mind -- both Slaton and Wilson were bigger than Holmes coming into college and more ready to shoulder that workload. Until Holmes puts on some additional weight, he will struggle to get carries at running back. With that in mind, it would not be surprising to see Holmes redshirt his freshman season (much like similarly-sized RB Jared Baker). Alternatively, he could see the field primarily on special teams or as a slot receiver (much like even-smaller WR/RB Tyrell Johnson). Fortunately, given that Arizona has at least two more years of Nick Wilson, Holmes has plenty of time to develop.
Darick Holmes, Jr. will need to bulk up and improve in order to get snaps at running back. Fortunately for Holmes and Arizona, there is no one in the country better at taking those diminutive running backs and coaching them up like Rich Rodriguez.
"But Mom, even though I run a 4.4 I'm only 5'6", and coaches say—" [/Rodriguez leaps from nearby garbage can] "—THAT YOU'RE PERFECT, KID."
— SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) October 3, 2014