Gavin Holmes, a CB from Wake Forest who entered the transfer portal earlier this month, is taking an official visit to Penn State the weekend of Jan. 7-8, he announced via Twitter early Thursday afternoon.
Holmes (5-foot-11, 175 pounds), played at Wake from 2020 through this past season.
His announcement comes days after Penn State offered him a scholarship, and the former Wake Forest starter has plenty of other options.
He’s had 18 total offers since officially entering the portal Dec. 5, the day it opened. Offers include Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Cincinnati, Kansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Texas, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington and West Virginia. Holmes is visiting Texas this coming weekend. If Holmes picks Penn State, which is by no means a guarantee, he’d be joining a defensive backs room that, even without Joey Porter Jr., who declared for the Draft earlier this month, should be in good shape next season. Cornerback Kalen  King  was arguably one of college football’s best at his position this past season, and Johnny Dixon got significant playing time as well, starting three games. Barring unforeseen circumstances, King and Dixon will be back on the fold next year.
Players such as Daequan Hardy,  Zakee Wheatley and Marquis Wilson also have eligibility, and would provide the secondary with depth assuming they come back. Additionally, Penn State has seven defensive backs committed to its 2023 recruiting class, so Holmes wouldn’t suffer from a lack of competition. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be up to the challenge.
In three seasons at Wake Forest, Holmes had 45 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Looking at more advanced numbers, Holmes played 349 snaps for Wake Forest this past season, the second highest among cornerbacks. He also played 262 snaps in 2021, the year Wake Forest went to the ACC title game.
