North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Finding his way -- Junior DE Antoine Holmes
8/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. There was only one part of Saturday’s day-long events that newcomer Antoine Holmes couldn’t stand the half-hour he stood atop a set of 15-foot risers waiting for the team picture to be taken.
The junior defensive end may be 6-foot-3 and 282 pounds, but he’s not shy about admitting that he doesn’t like heights. So when the photographer announced that all players 6-3 and taller had to climb to the top of the wooden tower, the Williamsburg, Va., native froze in his tracks.
“The interviews didn’t bother me a bit,” Holmes said soon after climbing down. “But I didn’t like getting on top of that thing at all.”
It’s been a whirlwind two months for the junior defensive lineman, who transferred to NC State from Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa., as part of new NC State football coach Tom O’Brien’s first recruiting class. He went through the summer conditioning program and has survived unusually high temperatures, even for August in the south.
Saturday morning, the annual Media Day, Photo Day and Meet the Pack Day was the first time Holmes or any of the program’s newcomers talked to the media. He says he has so far made a smooth transition from junior college to Division I-A football. Like all newcomers, Holmes has been overwhelmed at times, but he’s improving with every practice.
“I feel like I am in a good position to learn this year,” Holmes said. “The coaching staff has been very patient with me. It took me a little while to get my feet under me.”
So far the coaches have been impressed with the former junior college All-America, who had 18 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and two fumble recoveries as a sophomore at Lackawanna last year.
“We had a lot of exposure to what his talents were coming out of junior college,” O’Brien said. “He has been a very pleasant surprise and he is going to find his way onto the football field.” Saturday, there were times Holmes looked like a lost freshman, relying on senior defensive tackle DeMario Pressley to guide him from station-to-station, making sure he took care of all his team responsibilities.
But Holmes overcame all the obstacles including that scary wooden riser that were thrown at him, as you can see in this GoPack.com photo album. O’Brien and his staff hope he can also do that when the Wolfpack begins its season against Central Florida in two weeks at Carter-Finley Stadium.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
