Oklahoma State’s transfer haul under Eric Morris is packed with familiar patterns: a heavy dose of Group of 6 additions, nearly 20 players who followed him from North Texas, and a roster full of guys who either fought through injuries or never got enough snaps to show what they could do.
That makes Vincent Holmes stand out a little more.
Holmes arrived in Stillwater with the kind of recruiting pedigree that usually gets attention before a player ever takes a college snap. Coming out of San Jacinto High School in San Jacinto, Calif., he signed with Washington as a consensus four-star prospect, with 247Sports among the services rating him that way and most outlets slotting him inside the national top 25 at athlete. The expectation was simple: he could help either as a receiver or in the defensive backfield.
The Huskies chose safety, but the production never really followed. Holmes appeared in four games in 2023 and redshirted.
In 2024, he was in 12 of 13 games but finished with just seven tackles. Last season, he played all 13 games, earned one start and totaled only four tackles.
The résumé says one thing. The talent says another.
Holmes showed plenty in high school, where he caught 59 passes for 1,169 yards and 13 touchdowns on offense and added 55 tackles and two interceptions on a team that nearly reached a state title. The question has never been whether he has ability. It’s been whether the right opening would ever come along.
Oklahoma State is betting that opening is now.
After three years of waiting, Holmes gets a reset under a new staff in Stillwater, where fall camp starts with nearly every spot up for grabs. At safety, Quinton Hammonds and Evan Jackson - who played for Morris at North Texas last season - are the obvious names at the top of the board.
There’s still a lane for Holmes, though. Defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity’s 4-2-5 scheme calls for a third safety, and that gives Holmes the kind of path he’s been chasing since his college career began. The Cowboys are giving him the chance to win it, and if he does, his athletic profile gives him a real shot to become the former four-star who finally breaks through in Stillwater.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Is Still Alive For An In-State Recruit Fans Need
Recruiting in-state always matters in Stillwater, and Oklahoma State is still in the mix for one of the biggest names in the next wave. Kamieon Compton-Nero, the top-ranked athlete in the Class of 2028 and a standout from Owasso, is among the programs top 15 targets, a sign the Cowboys remain firmly in the conversation for a player who has already drawn attention on both sides of the ball.
Compton-Nero has put up eye-catching numbers as both a quarterback and a defensive player, which only adds to the intrigue around how he might be used at the next level. For Oklahoma State, the appeal goes beyond talent alone: the staff is tracking a local prospect who could become a major piece in the future, even with a quarterback room that already includes one 2027 commit and two true freshmen on campus. [Read more 🡒]
NCAA Twist Could Reopen Several Oklahoma State Careers
A federal judge in Colorado has thrown a fresh wrinkle into the NCAAs eligibility rules, ordering the association to declare eligible all high school class of 2022 athletes who used up four seasons of eligibility this spring. The ruling comes amid legal challenges to the NCAAs newer age-based "five-for-five" standard, and it has immediate implications for several student-athletes who suddenly have another path to keep competing.
For Oklahoma State, the decision touches three players and could reopen careers that looked finished at the end of the spring. The bigger picture for the Cowboys is obvious: roster planning, scholarship management and even offseason expectations can all shift when athletes who seemed out of eligibility may be able to return for another college season. [Read more 🡒]