The Clemson Insider caught up with a cornerback prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, who was Clemson’s lone visitor on campus Friday. Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.) three-star Brayden Holmes took in spring practice with his family and received a lot of attention from Mike Reed and the rest of Clemson’s defensive coaching staff.
“The visit was sweet,” Holmes said. “I got to look around the campus. The campus was very beautiful and I got to meet a couple of players, see the facility and then talk to Coach Reed and everything like that. So, it was pretty cool.”
What did he hear from Clemson’s cornerbacks coach when he was on campus Friday?
“Pretty much, Coach Reed, all he wanted to say to me was to keep grinding and that he had already watched my film,” Holmes said. “He said that my film was one of the best corner films that he’s seen with some other ones as well. He said he’s definitely going to keep eyes on me and is gonna pop up to one of my spring games sometime this spring.”
After Reed had followed Holmes back on Twitter in January, he told TCI that while he hadn’t heard anything from Clemson, he strongly believed that he was being analyzed until further notice.
Holmes had been chasing Clemson since the beginning of his spring season, he put faith in God and trusted the process. Not even two months later, there he is watching the Tigers practice and spending some one-on-one time with Reed.
“It means a lot to me, man,” he said. “Clemson’s been my dream school since I was a little kid. When I saw them win the National Championship in 2016, that’s really when I was starting to follow them. To finally get to be up there, feel that atmosphere and feel what it feels like to be a Tiger for at least a day is truly a blessing. I’m just super blessed that I have great connections to get me up there and to be up around those people. It means a lot to me and is very special to me.”
Holmes spent his time at Clemson’s second spring practice monitoring Reed and his position group. As he took in Friday’s late-afternoon practice, he was taken aback by how aggressive and patient Clemson’s cornerbacks are.
He could easily spot the difference between a high school-level corner and a collegiate-level corner. The latter is more patient, aggressive and physical and the coaches definitely are harder on them than they are in high school.
Holmes had a chance to talk with Nate Wiggins, the second-year cornerback out of Westlake (Atlanta, Ga).
“He’s pretty much an Atlanta legend,” he said of Wiggins. “He inspired a lot of other cornerbacks around there. We got to chop it up a little bit and I was asking him about how he liked it there. He said that’s a place where you want to be. That just motivated me, even more, to keep reaching for Clemson.”
Additionally, Holmes was impressed with Reed’s coaching style. He said it kind of reminded him of how his pops is, as Holmes comes from a military-based family. It also reminds him of his other cornerback coach back at Milton High School.
“He’s very organized,” Holmes said of Reed. “He’s always on top of you and wants to see the best from you and out of you. He’s a motivator and he always wants to see you get to your full potential. That’s the type of coach that I’m looking forward to playing for.”
Almost all of Clemson’s defensive coaching staff had watched Holmes’ film. He figured that Mickey Conn and maybe Reed, might have, but he learned quickly that wasn’t the case.
Holmes is not your typical Georgia-based cornerback. He moved from California to the Peach State and had a bit of a rocky start to his junior campaign. It was a culture shock to Holmes. Nobody knew who he was. They didn’t know that he was a three-star recruit and an up-and-coming talent.
At first, he didn’t start and had to work up from there and earn the trust of his teammates and coaches. Holmes estimates that after the third game, he was able to settle in and adjust, which allowed him to enjoy a successful junior season.
Across his junior campaign, Holmes recorded 38 total tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups.
“It was most definitely a motivation,” he said. “It motivated me a lot to try to enable me to work harder and get my name out there. I’m still trying to do that as well. In my play, I’m always trying to give the message that it doesn’t matter how many stars you have — whether or not you’re on the radar or if you’re off the radar — if you’re a good football player, you’re a good football player. At the end of the day, people will come and find you if you have the talent and you’re dedicated to your craft.”
Holmes plans on visiting Alabama next weekend and he’ll also make trips to Northwestern and LSU sometime this month.
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