Johnny Ludden, Staff Writer
Publication: San Antonio Express-News
Section: Sports
Date: December 29, 1996
Page: 10C
TEMPE, Ariz. – For a good chunk of his final year at Marshall High School, Priest Holmes would sit in the first seat on the bus. This would not be strange except that high school seniors – especially ones only a few weeks removed from leading their football team to the state championship game – normally do not sit in the front row. They rule over the rest of the bus from the back. It’s an unwritten law handed down through the ages so those unfortunate few upperclassmen needing to rely on public transportation could retain a little dignity. But in January 1992, there was Holmes, senior football star and all, sitting in the front seat for another month until he had saved $2,000, good enough for a down payment on a vehicle of his own. He quickly settled on a white 1985 Ford Mustang with blue trim.
A nice choice, his parents thought, except that Holmes didn’t know how to drive a standard. “I told him I would teach him,” said his father, Herman Morris. “But he told me he already knew. He had been watching the bus driver.”
Though his family was unaware, Holmes had been studying every gear shift and pedal push that driver made for weeks. And so, without ever asking a single question, Holmes learned to drive a stick. “That’s just part of his personality,” said Norma Morris, his mother. “He’s very independent and sometimes even surprises us with what he knows.” Family, friends and, lately, his Texas Longhorns teammates have grown accustomed to being surprised by the senior running back. When he played Pop Warner football as youngster, he once tried to switch teams in the middle of the season without telling his parents because he was tired of being on a loser.
He decided on his own to go to Texas, even though his mother preferred he attend Baylor. And once he got to Texas, his running backs coach, Bucky Godbolt, didn’t know what to make of the silent freshman. Most of his Texas teammates didn’t even know his given name was Priest. Holmes went by his middle name, Anthony, during high school and his first two years of college. He rose to fame during the 1994 season finale with 161 yards and four touchdowns against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. But he also disappeared from sight almost as quickly. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during spring drills and missed all of last season while fellow backs Shon Mitchell and Ricky Williams took over the spotlight.
Holmes spent this season dutifully performing his role as a goal- line and third-down specialist until he stunned everyone with 120 yards and three touchdowns in Texas’ 37-27 win over Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game. The nine carries in the game were a surprise to him, he concedes, but not the result. Of course, Holmes says he’s shocked by little that’s happened to him. “I really believe there’s a path for me already set,” he said. “And I’m never going to stop believing that. There’s a path for me already set and I’m just staying on it as close as I can. Even going to the (NFL) . . . it doesn’t stop there.”
“He went up to the front of the church and the minister was praying for him when he stopped,” Morris said. “He said God had revealed to him that Priest was going to do well in football. He said that God had his hands on Priest, that he was going to mold him and shape him. Football was going to be his platform to express his love for God.”
Holmes has done that, sharing his beliefs with his teammates and relying on his spiritual faith to pull him through difficult times, including his knee rehabilitation. “The only person that limits you is yourself,” Holmes said. “And whenever my knee would hurt, I would just think of something I have to be thankful for. And I do have a lot to be thankful for.”
Tops on his list is his 3-year-old son, DeAndre, who has forced Holmes to grow up faster. There was even a point when Holmes was considering dropping out of school to help raise DeAndre, who lives with his mother in San Antonio. “If Priest had to give up everything to take care of his son, he would,” Morris said. “When he told us he was thinking about quitting school to work, we told him the best thing he could do for DeAndre was to get an education and that we would help him out.”
As it is, Holmes spends as much time as possible with his son. The Morrises bring DeAndre to Texas’ home games and Holmes almost missed his plane to Arizona on Dec. 20 because he was waiting around to give DeAndre his Christmas gifts. “I don’t get to see him a lot,” Holmes said. “And he probably couldn’t even imagine how much I think about him. I get a lot of joy from DeAndre and performing.”
After watching Mitchell and Williams combine for 2,089 rushing yards last season, Holmes knew full well his role on the Longhorns’ offense would change once he returned from knee injury. So he hit the weights during rehab and gained almost 30 pounds in a three-month span, topping the scales at close to 220 pounds at one point. “He went in trying to fix his knee,” Godbolt said, “and came out a hulk.” Holmes’ coaches and teammates also noticed a change in his personality. Quiet ever since he came to Texas, Holmes began to speak up more. Longhorns coach John Mackovic told reporters at a preseason news conference that Holmes was a silent leader on the team, only to discover minutes later that Holmes was holding court with reporters for almost half an hour.
“It was always hard to get up a conversation with Priest,” Godbolt said. “And once you got one started, it was hard to keep it going. Now he comes in and throws out his hand for a handshake. We talk about everything now – things outside of football. My kids, his son. I’m not sure if it’s him maturing or if he just has more confidence in himself.” Holmes, one of four team captains, said he has matured. He realized at the start of his final season that he needed to assume more of a leadership role – and that meant becoming more vocal. When Texas was leading Nebraska 20-17 at halftime, Holmes stood up in the locker room and talked about how he had been close to winning a championship once before, when Marshall led Odessa Permian after two quarters in the ’92 state title game, only to see it slip away.
“Priest doesn’t always say a whole lot,” guard Dan Neil said. “So when he does say something, you listen.” The Longhorns went on to shock the Huskers, with Holmes capping the victory with an 11-yard score, his team-high 13th rushing touchdown of the season. And judging from the calls his parents have received from agents the past two weeks, that game may have brought him a lot closer to realizing his dream of playing in the NFL. “I really don’t worry about that,” Holmes said. “I think God already has determined everything for me and I’m just going to do my best to follow along.” – – –
Priest Holmes file
– School: Texas
– Class: Senior
– Position: Running back
– Career highlights: Rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns, including a 61-yarder, against Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. Only player in the nation to have run for a touchdown against the Huskers’ first-team defense this season. Rushed for 100 yards in three straight games to start the 1994 season. Had a career-high 161 yards and four touchdowns against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl that year.
