Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Fuller "faster" were his superior ball skills, including adjusting his body or route to the flight of the ball. "Although he runs at the same speed, he's not playing at the same speed yet," Kelly said of Holmes. "I think he's capable. He's certainly not there yet, but he's trending in the right direction." "He's done a much better job in the last year or so of learning how to play fast," Denbrock said this spring. "He just needs to continue to be reminded — and when he sees it on film when he's not running quite full speed like he can. … He knows that's something that he needs to continue to address, but he's done a better job than in the past." Holmes is the first to acknowledge he hasn't arrived as a major college receiver yet, especially after having to redshirt as a sophomore to facilitate his development. After making late-game appearances as a freshman in 48-17 and 31-0 blowouts of Rice and Michigan to open the 2014 campaign, Holmes has gone 24 consecutive Notre Dame games without seeing game action. "Consistency," Holmes said when asked what has held him back. "Consistently going out there and knowing my responsibilities and what I had to do." During his crisis of confidence, Holmes often turned to his father, David Holmes, a star defensive back at Syracuse in the 1980s (including the 11-0-1 team in 1987) and the 92nd overall pick (fourth round) in the 1989 NFL Draft. "My daddy [would] tell me all the time, 'Trust your speed. You're fast, just trust it,' " Holmes said. "I kind of get caught up in trying to make people miss instead of just showing the speed at times … just pushing myself and