Notre Dame Football: 2017 Freshman Breakdown – C.J. Holmes
Notre Dame football added a great running back to their stable in ’17.
C.J. Holmes – Running Back – Hamden, Connecticut – Cheshire Academy
C.J. Holmes is ranked as the #2 recruit in Connecticut and the #258 overall by 247 Sports and #2 in Connecticut and #203 overall by Rivals. He committed to ND on July 8, 2016.
Holmes rushed for 1,169 yards in his senior year. He attended The Opening and also Irish Invasion, Note Dame’s invite-only Spring evaluation camp where Holmes showed off elite receiving skills for a running back.
Holmes committed to Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Tennessee and UCLA among many others. Bleacher Report released an interesting commitment announcement video featuring him on a fishing boat. Click here to watch Holmes’ commitment video
C.J. Holmes is IRISH.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) February 1, 2017
An all-around back will join our dominant stable in the backfield on day one.
👀 @CJHo1mes#IRISHEL17E pic.twitter.com/2Ep7eifWCy
Watch Holmes Hudl highlights film here
C.J. Holmes has many of the same traits of Taren Folston.
Holmes has good field vision and patience. Like Folston, he lacks top end speed but he makes up for it with elusiveness and a great agility to make well-timed cuts to make defenders miss. He
What seperates him from Folston is that he has a longer frame and possesses better receiving skills.
Holmes brings a lot of energy and bravado to the field. He’s quite aggressive when blocking in the backfield.
Projection
Holmes likely won’t see the field in ’17 unless there’s an injury to either Adams, Williams or Jones Jr. He could possibly get time as a change of pace back or to catch the ball out of the backfield but I doubt it.
Long-term, I see Holmes being an effective all-purpose back. He could see snaps out of the slot to take advantage of his superior receiving skills. I could see him getting involved in the return game if he makes improvements as it relates to his top speed.
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Notre Dame got a good one here to add to their stable of impressive running backs. He should do well as a compliment to big-bodied Tony Jones Jr. and Markese Stepp, assuming he sticks to his commitment to Notre Dame.