Texas Tech University Athletics
2026 Spring Football Roster
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Jersey Number 10
A.J. Holmes Jr.
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 300
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Houston, Texas
- High School:
- Westfield
CAREER HONORS
2026 SEASON (SENIOR)
2025 SEASON (JUNIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
PERSONAL
- Associated Press All-America Second Team (2025, Jr.)
- On3 All-America Second Team (2025, Jr.)
- PFF All-America Team (2025, Jr.)
- All-Big 12 Third Team (2025, Jr.)
- PFF All-Big 12 Team (2025, Jr.)
- Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team (2025, Jr.)
- Shrine Bowl 1000Â (2025, Jr.)
2026 SEASON (SENIOR)
- Enters his final collegiate season among the highest-rated returning interior defensive linemen in the country … his 84.8 overall grade as a junior ranks third at his position group, trailing only Colorado’s Ezra Christensen (previously at New Mexico State) and Auburn’s Cody Sigler (previously at Arkansas State) … will switch to jersey No. 10 for his final season as a Red Raider.Â
2025 SEASON (JUNIOR)
- Put together an All-America season in his debut as a Red Raider … appeared in all 14 games, beginning the year as a backup to Skyler Gill-Howard before starting the final eight years following his injury … ultimately earned national honors as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the country.Â
- Recorded 38 tackles (19 solo) on the year, including 9.0 for a loss and 4.5 sacks, after notching at least one stop in all 14 games … had three or more tackles in nine different contests overall … credited with four pass breakups at the line of scrimmage and seven quarterback hurries as well … added to Texas Tech’s FBS-leading takeaway total with two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.Â
- One of five Red Raiders to end the season with 9.0 or more tackles for loss, which was tied with Indiana, Ole Miss and Oklahoma for the most in the FBS … was joined by outside linebackers David Bailey and Romello Height, fellow defensive lineman Lee Hunter and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with 9.0 or more tackles for loss … marked the most Red Raiders hitting that number in a season dating back to 2005 and matched the most by a Big 12 program during that same span.Â
- Key part of a Texas Tech defense that led the Big 12 for scoring defense (11.8), rushing defense (68.1) and total defense (258.3) and ranked in the top five nationally in all three categories … the Red Raiders were the FBS leader in rushing defense and takeaway (32) thanks in large part to his efforts.Â
- Credited with 564 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus, which awarded him an 84.8 overall grade … among the highest-rated interior defensive linemen in the country by the publication, ranking seventh nationally and first in the Big 12 among those with at least 300 snaps … overall grade was boosted by a 88.1 grade in run defense, which trailed only Jacob Rodriguez (94.8) on the team … ranked third for his rush defense grade nationally among interior defensive linemen, trailing only Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald (91.2) and Georgia’s Christen Miller (90.2).Â
- Able to regularly get in the backfield with 37 total pressures, per PFF … ranked third on the team for pressures and sixth nationally among interior defensive linemen … pressure total was second among interior defensive linemen from a power conference … registered at least one pressure in 12 of 14 games with a season-high eight coming in the win over Kansas.
- ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITIONS: a second team All-America selection by the Associated Press, giving Texas Tech four total Red Raiders who earned All-America recognition … joined with Lee Hunter to become the first Red Raider interior defensive linemen to earn All-America honors since Gabe Rivera was a unanimous choice in 1982 … marked the first All-America honors of his career … recognized by other publications outside the NCAA-recognized groups as a second team All-American by On3 and on the Pro Football All-America Team.Â
- ADDITIONAL AWARDS AND HONORS: an All-Big 12 third team honoree by the conference coaches … more highly considered among Associated Press members on its All-Big 12 first team as well as the All-Big 12 team compiled by Pro Football Focus using its grading system … recognized for his pro potential as part of the Shrine Bowl 1,000 list prior to the season.Â
- SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
- Combined for 11 tackles during non-conference play with three stops against both Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/30) and Oregon (9/13) sandwiched around a season-high five versus Kent State (9/6) … constantly in the backfield in the Kent State win with 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup to go along with a fumble recovery … pass breakup with caught by Skyler Gill-Howard, who returned it 55 yards for a touchdown in one of the most-watched highlights of the college football season … pick-six play gave the Red Raiders a 38-0 lead midway through the second quarter … ended Kent State’s next possession with a fumble recovery after a miscue in the backfield.Â
- Recovered another fumble in the Big 12 opener at Utah (9/20) to go along with three tackles … landed on a punchout from Jacob Rodriguez late in the first quarter for one of four takeaways by the Red Raiders in the win … limited to only one tackle the next week in his return to his old school in Houston (10/4).Â
- Followed with possibly his best game of the season the next week in the Homecoming win over Kansas (10/11), which featured four tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and 2.0 sacks … got to Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels for the first time to start the Jayhawks’ second-to-last drive of the first half and added second sack to stop a third-down attempt in the fourth quarter … in between, combined with Jacob Rodriguez for a tackle for loss to stop the Jayhawks on 3rd-and-1 on their first drive of the second half.Â
- Made his first start of the season a week later at Arizona State (10/18) with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a shared sack to go along with two pass breakups … got his hand on a Sam Leavitt pass to stop a 3rd-and-3 attempt on the Sun Devils’ opening drive … later combined with Romello Height to sack Leavitt in the red zone early in the third quarter.
- Started a streak of four-consecutive games with a tackle for loss versus Kansas, continuing it at Arizona State, versus Oklahoma State (10/25) and at Kansas State (11/1) … both of his tackles in the shutout win over Oklahoma State went for a loss, combining with David Bailey and then Jayden Cofield on third-down stops … tackle for loss at Kansas State came on the Wildcats’ second play of the game … added two quarterback hurries on back-to-back plays later in the first quarter in the win over the Wildcats.Â
- Credited with four tackles in the regular-season win over BYU (11/8) followed by a single stop against both UCF (11/15) and at West Virginia (11/29) to close the regular season … notched his final sack of the season in the second game against BYU (12/6) in the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship … stripped BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier on his sack on the second play of the fourth quarter, which was recovered by Romello Height … the Red Raiders pushed their lead to 24-7 a few plays later on a Stone Harrington 44-yard field goal … closed the season with three tackles in the Capital One Orange Bowl versus Oregon (1/1).
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Arrived at Texas Tech after spending first three years of collegiate career at the University of Houston ... the Cougars competed in the AAC his first season (2022) before the program joined the Big 12 the following year ... familiar with new defensive system at Texas Tech after playing under defensive coordinator Shiel Wood while at Houston in 2024.
- Saw action in 29 total games during Houston career with 16 starts … called up to start for the Cougars as only a true freshman before becoming a regular up front … registered 67 tackles (37 solo) for his career, including 13.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks … combined to play in 1,256 defensive snaps as a Cougar according to Pro Football Focus, creating 52 total pressures during that span.
- 2024 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at HOUSTON): regular on the defensive front as a sophomore, starting in all 12 games at defensive tackle … led all Houston defensive linemen with 639 defensive snaps according to Pro Football Focus … recorded 40 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss, both career highs for a single season … had 2.0 sacks as part of that total to go along with seven quarterback hurries … posted multiple tackles in 10 of 12 games overall to join seven other Cougars with at least 40 tackles on the season.
- Credited with 639 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus, the most in his college career … ranked second on the team with 26 total pressures per PFF with 20 of those coming from quarterback hurries … ranked third among Big 12 interior defenders and led all 2027 NFL Draft-eligible FBS interior defenders in quarterback hurries according to PFF … his 26 pressures ranked tied for fifth among all Big 12 interior defensive linemen and led all 2027 NFL Draft-eligible FBS interior defenders.
- Recorded at least a share of a tackle for loss in seven of nine Big 12 contests overall, including a career-high 2.0 at Arizona (11/15) late in the season … performance was part of four tackles, which also included a solo sack for a seven-yard loss … posted 1.5 tackles for loss in back-to-back weeks at Cincinnati (9/21) and versus Iowa State (9/28) … started a stretch of four-consecutive games with at least one tackle for loss after recording one tackle behind the line of scrimmage at both TCU (10/4) and Kansas (10/9) … performance versus Iowa State included his first sack of the season for a seven-yard loss … capped the season with a career-high seven tackles versus Baylor (11/23).
- 2023 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN at HOUSTON): became a regular contributor as a redshirt freshman, appearing in all 12 games with three starts ... compiled 21 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks across 12 games ... was third on the team with his 4.5 tackles for loss … combined for nine of 21 stops over final three games of the season.
- Led all UH defensive linemen with 461 defensive snaps according to Pro Football Focus ... ranked eighth among all Big 12 interior defensive linemen with 20 quarterback pressures and ranked ninth in the conference with 15 quarterback hurries per PFF ... his 68.9 overall defensive grade by PFF was tops among Big 12 freshmen interior defenders.
- Tallied single-game season highs in tackle for loss (2.5) and sacks (1.5) versus Cincinnati (11/11) ... had a single-game season high of four tackles in games versus UTSA (9/2) and Cincinnati (11/11) ... recorded multiple stops in six different contests with two tackles versus TCU (9/16), Sam Houston State (9/23) and Oklahoma State (11/18) as well as three in the regular-season finale at UCF (11/25) … both tackles versus Sam Houston resulted in losses, including one for a sack.
- 2022 SEASON (FRESHMAN/HOUSTON): redshirt season … appeared in four regular-season games as well as the Independence Bowl as only a true freshman … recorded six tackles overall with one shared stop that went for a loss … credited with 156 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus … received a 77.4 overall grade by the publication, which led all AAC true freshman interior defensive linemen (minimum 150 snaps) … earned his first career start late in the season versus Temple (11/12), finishing with three tackles and a forced fumble in the win … graded out at 83.3 overall by PFF against the Owls with an 82.4 grade as a pass rusher, which ranked second on the team … previously made his debut versus USF (10/29) with two stops, including his first career tackle for loss and quarterback hurry … followed with another tackle the next week at SMU (11/5).
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Westfield High School in his hometown of Houston … among the top high school prospects from the Houston area … was a three-year letterwinner at Westfield, which was also the alma mater of Ed Oliver, who starred at Houston before being selected ninth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
- Named the District 14-6A Most Valuable Player as a senior after logging 96 tackles, 54 solo tackles and 26 tackles for loss over 12 games ... added 16 sacks and averaged 8.0 tackles per game that season … contributed two takeaways by returning an interception for a touchdown and recovering one fumble over the course of the 2021 season. Â
- Recorded 13 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and one sack as a junior in 2020 … averaged 6.5 tackles per game that season from his spot on the interior defensive line ... as a sophomore, posted 16 tackles (nine solo), including 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks to go along with a fumble recovery. Â
- Consensus three-star prospect coming out of high school by the likes of 247Sports, On3, ESPN and Rivals … ranked as high as No. 47 by ESPN among interior defensive linemen … was a top-100 recruit in the state of Texas by both 247Sports and ESPN, ranking No. 87 and No. 89, respectively, by both publications … chose Houston over similar offers from the likes of TCU, Virginia, Minnesota and Colorado, among others.
PERSONAL
- Anthony Holmes Jr. ... son of Anthony Holmes Sr. and Carlisha Holmes ... nickname is A.J., short for Anthony Junior … named after his father.
- Anthony Holmes Sr. played linebacker and running back at Northwestern State (2003-06) and was a 2A All-State honoree in high school.
- Enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time... would like to pursue being a trainer or a coach after football.
- An explore business and industry major at Texas Tech.
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