Ole Miss football signee DeeJay Holmes Jr. was arrested on Monday, April 24, at 7:28 p.m. in Palm Beach, Fla.
Holmes faces a third-degree felony charge for allegedly eluding an officer with active sirens in Palm Beach County, according to The Palm Beach Post’s Emilee Smarr.
The three-star edge rusher was held on a $3,000 bond, which was paid, resulting in his release at 12:56 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25.
When asked to comment about Holmes’ arrest, the Ole Miss Athletics Department did not answer.
As a high school senior, the standout from Pahokee, Fla., held more than 20 offers from schools, including Colorado, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Cincinnati, Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina. However, Holmes committed to head coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels on Feb. 1 and signed his National Letter of Intent that day.
As a member of the Pahokee high school football team, Holmes received the Athlete of the Year award from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. During his previous two seasons, Holmes recorded 52 sacks and 86 quarterback hurries.
During his time at Pahokee, Holmes wore the No. 6 jersey, which was last worn at the school by former NFL great Anquan Boldin. Prior to this, the number was retired, but Holmes requested to wear it, and Boldin obliged.
Holmes will go down as one of the best football players to come out of Pahokee, as he only trailed one other player for the nation’s high school sack title. He finished his senior year with 32.5 total sacks and led his team to a deep playoff run.
Holmes is a part of the top 20-ranked Ole Miss 2023 recruiting class that features one five-star, six four star and eight three-star signees.
The six-foot-three 230-pound Holmesr ranks in the top 70 among all edge-rushing recruits according to 247Sports.
He is set to be a key piece for newly hired Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, but a bump in the road like this is worrisome, especially since Holmes has not arrived on campus.
Holmes is an incredibly talented player, and Ole Miss’ coaching staff highly favored him during the recruiting process, so there is optimism that this is a one-time occurrence.
In an offseason that has already been full of noise for the Ole Miss football program with transfer portal additions and coaching changes, this news coming out of Palm Beach adds to the Rebels’ turmoil.
