After a career year with the Red Raiders, it appears many think Holmes Jr. is set to be an elite player in 2026.
The 2025 season for Texas Tech's A.J. Holmes Jr. was about as good as he and the team could have hoped for.
After transferring from Houston at the end of the 2024 season after three seasons, Holmes Jr. became a force of nature along the defensive line.
Of course, with David Bailey doing his thing as well, naturally Holmes Jr. was going to see favorable matchups, and he produced when he did.
Posting 9.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles from 14 games, it was easily A.J.'s best return in college football.
Now, as we look ahead to the new college season, with Bailey in the NFL with the New York Jets, there is an opportunity for Holmes Jr. to take his game to the next level and become a dominant force along the defensive line.
And apparently others think so too.
PFF has released its top 50 college players ahead of the new season, and Holmes Jr. lands high on this list, coming in at No. 13.
"Holmes was a solid starter at Houston for two seasons before breaking out in 2025 after transferring to Texas Tech," PFF wrote. "He finished the season as the nation's most valuable interior defender according to PFF WAA. The redshirt junior's 88.1 PFF run-defense grade ranked third among Power Four interior defenders, while his 37 pressures ranked second.
"Holmes earned PFF All-America honors, one of only two returning defensive players to do so alongside Leonard Moore."
That is quite the feather in his cap, but now he has to show why PFF has him ranked so high. He's got to take his game to another level.
A game-wrecker who has quick feet and is great against the run, there isn't much Holmes Jr. can't do. With Bailey no longer taking the attention of the offensive line, Holmes Jr. could be forced to do some heavy lifting, but he's got the tools to do it.
While defensive tackles aren't usually big stat-getters, last season, A.J. proved they can be, and if he has another year as he did for the Red Raiders, he might also be shooting up draft boards as well.
So yeah, the 2026 season has a lot riding on it.
