Priest Holmes

Priest Holmes: Undrafted legend, Chiefs Hall of Famer, and one of the NFL's most prolific touchdown scorers.

Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He started his career with the Baltimore Ravens but experienced breakout success after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in 2001. During his seven-year stint with the Chiefs, Holmes was a three-time All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowl selection and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2002.

Prior to playing for the Chiefs, Holmes earned a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens, who'd signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1997, in their 2000 Super Bowl XXXV victory over the New York Giants. He rushed for just over 2,000 yards in four seasons in Baltimore. Holmes sat out the 2006 season with a neck injury, and after a brief comeback attempt in 2007, he retired from the NFL. One of the best undrafted rushers in NFL history, his 8,172 rushing yards is the second most by an undrafted player in league history.

Holmes played college football for the Texas Longhorns. He was inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2014.

Quick Facts

Position: Running back
Born: 7 October 1973
Birthplace: Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
High school: John Marshall (Leon Valley, Texas)
College: Texas (1992–1996)
Former teams: Baltimore Ravens (1997, 2000); Kansas City Chiefs (2001, 2007)

Lore & Background

Holmes was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Although he carries the last name of his biological father, he never met the man, and only attended his funeral. Holmes was raised in San Antonio, Texas, by his mother Norma, and stepfather Herman Morris. Holmes was raised in a military household as his stepfather was an aircraft technician at Kelly Air Force Base for 20 years.

When he was 13, Holmes spent a summer in Detroit, Michigan, working for his grandfather's lawn care service. Working with much older men for 12 hours a day, six days a week, Holmes learned the work ethic that later shaped him as a football player. Holmes, who had idolized Dallas Cowboys' running back Tony Dorsett growing up, developed his own elusive running style while playing street football with the children in his neighborhood. Holmes later attended John Marshall High School, where he became a starter for head coach David Visentine.

As a senior in 1991, Holmes rushed for 2,061 yards, and led his team to a runner-up finish in the state championship game, losing to Odessa Permian. Holmes attended the University of Texas at Austin from 1992 to 1996, playing the entire time for John Mackovic. He played in the final seven games of his freshman season, Mackovic's first as head coach, rushing for 114 yards against Houston. After starting two games and averaging over five yards per carry for the second straight season as a sophomore, Holmes received more significant playing time as a junior.

He rushed for 524 yards and five touchdowns, and was named MVP of the 1994 Sun Bowl after rushing for 161 yards and four touchdowns in a win against North Carolina. Holmes missed the 1995 season with a knee injury, allowing for the emergence of future Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams as the starter. Relegated to third string behind Williams and Shon Mitchell, Holmes scored 13 touchdowns despite carrying the ball only 59 times. Holmes's biggest moment came in the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game.

Entering the game with a 7–4 record against third-ranked Nebraska, Texas upset the Cornhuskers 37–27, with Holmes rushing for 120 yards and three touchdowns. In Holmes' final two seasons, Texas posted a record of 16–9, finishing ranked in the top 25 each season. He rushed for a career total of 1,276 yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Reader's Guide

Holmes joined the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 1997. He spent his entire rookie season behind Bam Morris, Earnest Byner, and Jay Graham as the team’s fourth-string running back. On September 24, 1997, Holmes made his professional regular season debut as part of the special teams unit during a 38–10 victory at the Tennessee Oilers in Week 4. He appeared in seven games as a rookie in 1997.

During training camp in 1998, Holmes competed to be the starting running back after the departures of Morris and Byner. Head coach Ted Marchibroda named Holmes the third running back on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Errict Rhett and Graham. In the 1998 season with the Ravens, Holmes rushed for over 1,000 yards (leading the team in rushing) including one 200-plus yard game, the highest single game total of the season. In the 1999 season, he appeared in nine games and started four.

He finished with 89 carries for 506 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 13 receptions for 104 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. In the 2000 season, he was supplanted as a starter by rookie running back Jamal Lewis. The Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV 34–7 over the New York Giants with Holmes as their second string halfback. In 2001, Holmes signed an inexpensive contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his first season with the Chiefs, he exceeded expectations by leading the NFL in rushing with 1,555 yards for the 2001 NFL season, becoming the first undrafted player to do so. Despite missing the final two games in the 2002 NFL season because of a hip injury, Holmes rushed for 1,615 yards with 21 touchdowns. With three receiving touchdowns to go along with his rushing, he had 24 total touchdowns on the season. The team finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs as Holmes set a record for most total touchdowns for a player on a team that missed the playoffs.

In the 2003 NFL season, he broke Marshall Faulk's NFL record for total touchdowns in a season with 27, which was subsequently broken by Shaun Alexander with 28 total touchdowns in 2005 and broken again by LaDainian Tomlinson with 31 total touchdowns in 2006. Holmes and Emmitt Smith are the only two running backs in NFL history to have back to back seasons with 20 or more rushing touchdowns.