5-Star Darnay Holmes Shares Advice from His Mentor, Oregon QB Vernon Adams

When Oregon announced Vernon Adams as its starting quarterback late last week, Darnay Holmes instantly beamed with pride. 

The 2017 5-star athlete shares the same hometown of Pasadena, California, with the new Ducks passer.

Adams’ journey from little-known recruit to the edge of superstardom has resonated with the 5’11”, 190-pound rising junior at Calabasas (California) High School.

“That’s a great honor for Pasadena,” Holmes told Bleacher Report. “I definitely know he is going to put on for the city and try to win the Heisman and bring that back to Pasadena. Oregon is definitely going to be a contender to win it all in my opinion. “

Holmes said the communication between he and Adams has been infrequent. However, he notes that Adams has given him some helpful advice on the recruiting process and finding success at the next level.

“When we do [talk], it’s about football and just trying become a better man,” Holmes said.

While Adams came up as an unknown in the recruiting world, Holmes—who is the nation’s No. 2 corner and No. 8 prospect overall in the 2017 class—is one of the biggest prizes in the country in his class. Still, he admits watching Adams overcome a series of hurdles to win the Ducks quarterback job has inspired him.

“He’s just telling me not to take anything for granted,” Holmes said. “He just tells me to keep working hard. He came from a lower-division school and I’m getting recruited from a higher-division school. So he worked his tail off to get to Oregon, so that definitely motivates me that no matter where I’m at, just to try and do my absolute best and play my heart out. He’s proof that if you do that, you can achieve great things.”

A two-way standout who plays both corner and receiver, Holmes appears to have a bright future ahead of him on the gridiron.

He’s already amassed more than 20 offers heading into his junior season, and his recruitment is beginning to take shape.

As noted by Brad Allis of 247Sports, Holmes released a list of his top 10 schools in late July. Alabama, Arizona, Miami, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Stanford, USC, UCLA and Washington were the lucky schools that made his list.

However, he said his list could change if and when new schools enter the picture with offers.

His two most recent summer visits were to Ohio State and Stanford.

He came away impressed with his time spent in Columbus.

“They are a great program,” Holmes said of the Buckeyes. “They know how to groom players into men. They know what they are doing over there. They just have that dog mentality. When I went up there, it was just a different environment. Everybody was hungry. When I went to the camp, I was just acting like I was one of their players who already have that type of same mentality and I performed well.”

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Can't wait to be in the beautiful city of Palo Alto tomorrow morning#FearTheTree

— Darnay Holmes (@DarnayHolmes) June 6, 2015"

The Cardinal represent the in-state school that seems to have the most traction with him at the moment.

“When I was there on campus, it just gave me that feeling of wanting to strive for greatness,” Holmes said. “Stanford is definitely one of those schools that has great academics and the football side of it is also great now. They have a great 2016 class coming in, and that’s something a lot of the guys in the 2017 class are looking into and paying attention to. Stanford is definitely a school that is going to be on the rise in the next couple of years.” 

He has a tentative visit planned to Virginia Tech for the Labor Day matchup with Ohio State, which he said he will know for sure whether or not he will be able to attend by Wednesday. That trip is the only one on his agenda currently.

He tentatively mentioned next summer as a time that he would like to make a decision, but there are a few more visits he wants to take and schools such as Florida State and Texas he is hoping to hear from in the future.

For now, he plans to help his club—which features fellow 2017 standouts in 4-star quarterback Tristan Gebbia and 4-star receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr.—try to win a state title.

His duties are likely to include making game-changing plays on both sides of the ball, which is something he hopes to continue to do at the next level.

“Whenever I get to college, I will see how I fit in going both ways,” Holmes said. “If I’m man enough to play both ways, I think they will let me do it. In my opinion, I was born a corner. But I’ve played on the offensive side since I was young. If they give me a chance to go offense, I will definitely try to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani