Perseverance guides Holmes to graduation day

Holmes feature from the UT College of Education

They say the body goes where the eyes go. So for a running back, while agility and quickness are necessary qualities, vision might actually be the most important. Vision allows the running back to see the hole, identify the seam and pick out that opening in the secondary.

After all, everybody needs a target.

For Texas Longhorns standout Priest Holmes, targets turned into a Big 12 Championship, bowl game MVP honors, a Super Bowl ring and NFL records. And, 19 years after Holmes left the Forty Acres for a decorated professional career, the target turned into a college diploma.

"I realized that was always the goal," said Holmes, who earned an applied learning and development degree from the College of Education.

Since retiring from the NFL in 2007, Holmes has focused on philanthropic work in his native San Antonio while also serving the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). As president of the NFLPA's San Antonio chapter, Holmes was active in planning and organizing the quarterly conference last October in Dallas. The majority of the programming focuses on providing professional development, including informational sessions about returning to college to complete degree requirements.

Holmes was affected by what he heard.

"I got fired up to finish that degree," he said. "It really motivated me and gave me that passion."

With the assistance of Texas Athletics' academic services staff, Holmes was able to determine the course work that he needed to graduate. During the spring semester, Holmes drove to Austin from San Antonio on Wednesdays and Thursdays to attend classes.

"I truly enjoyed the opportunity to be back on campus," Holmes said.

And he'd often visit Kat Hastings, his academic advisor, in the afternoons to discuss what he'd learned in class each day – books, backpack and all.

"He really regained this enthusiasm for learning," Hastings said.

Holmes founded the Priest Holmes Foundation in 2005 to enhance, encourage and empower youth, and most recently, Holmes has partnered with San Antonio-area schools to initiate a "Fundamentals in Training" after school program to promote health and wellness. Fitness trainers come to campuses and lead students in an hour's worth of curriculum.

Through the applied learning and development program, Holmes enrolled in classes that enabled him to research how students and teachers communicate.

"I was taking courses and able to turn around and immediately implement them in our programs," Holmes said. "That made the transition easier."

Said Hastings: "I think he's a natural teacher. He's a coach at heart."

After helping the Longhorns to the inaugural Big 12 Championship in his final year in 1996, Holmes signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens and earned a ring in Super Bowl XXXV. In 2001, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and was the league's leading rusher with 1,555 yards that season.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Holmes went on to set the NFL total touchdown season record with 27 in 2003, and also surpassed Chiefs records in career rushing attempts, career rushing yards, career touchdowns and total touchdowns. He was later named a member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Through it all, whether on the field, in the weight room or dissecting X's and O's on film, Holmes said he felt a peace of knowing he was doing exactly what he should be doing.

This past semester at UT, Holmes said he felt something similar. His passion, already identified through his foundation and after school programs, took a circular path into the classroom.

"And that passion transferred right back to the students, and teaching the physical fitness component," Holmes said.
The completion of this journey ultimately resonated with Holmes when he was fitted for his T-Ring, which is presented to every Texas student-athlete upon graduation from The University.

"I remembered that really was always a target," he said.

The ring, the diploma and the young people Holmes strives to educate will now serve as ongoing reminders of a goal accomplished.

"Hopefully I can share this story to prove that it's never too late," Holmes said. "Perseverance speaks volumes if you apply it to your life."

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics