Nine days until Texas Football: Gavin Holmes competing at field corner; Isaiah Neyor seeks return to Wyoming form
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on.
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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is nine days until kickoff. No. 9 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Gavin Holmes, a junior defensive back, and Isaiah Neyor, a senior wide receiver.
Gavin Holmes season outlook
Texas needed to shore up depth at cornerback following the exhaustion of D’Shawn Jamison‘s eligibility, and the Horns looked to the portal and found Holmes.
After a solid career with the Demon Deacons, Holmes sought opportunity and relationships and Texas’ Terry Joseph was able to offer both.
A great fit for field corner, Holmes competed with sophomore Terrance Brooks at that position. Brooks, who surged at the end of the 2022 season, has a solid grasp on the position but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that Holmes had one of his better weeks last week including the Saturday scrimmage.
Holmes may not start, but he’ll have plenty of opportunity. The quality of depth at corner, field corner specifically, means even if he’s not the first player on the field Holmes will play plenty on the wide side this season.
Holmes is a transfer cornerback from Wake Forest. He spent three seasons with the Demon Deacons, including redshirting in 2020 and played in 28 career games with 14 starts. Holmes recorded 44 tackles over the past two years, 23 of them solo, along with 13 pass breakups, three tackles for loss, an interception and one forced fumble.
Gavin Holmes as a recruit
Isaiah Neyor season outlook
Neyor had a case to be Texas’ WR1 last season and provide a green Quinn Ewers with three more-than-capable wideouts, not to mention Ja’Tavion Sanders at tight end. But Neyor tore his ACL during preseason camp, and the complexion of the Longhorn offense changed as soon as he was lost for the year.
Since then, Neyor attacked his rehab and has come close to returning to his 2022 preseason form. The addition of Adonai Mitchell plus the returns of Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy may mean Neyor doesn’t have the chance at the same amount of playing time he did last year, but Neyor realistically is the fourth wide receiver for the 2023 Longhorns. And unlike in years past, the fourth wide receiver is of a quality high enough to play regularly.
Neyor is a second-year wide receiver who transferred from Wyoming and enrolled at Texas in January 2022. He did not appear in any games due to an injury sustained during preseason training camp.
At Wyoming, Neyor was named a second-team All-Mountain West Conference honoree in 2021 after compiling 44 receptions for 878 yards (19.95 ypr) and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. His yards per reception and 12 receiving touchdowns both led the MWC and ranked sixth and eighth in the FBS, respectively.
Isaiah Neyor as a recruit
Recent player to wear No. 9: Colin Johnson
Johnson played in 45 games with 29 starts in his four season on the 40 Acres. He was one of six Longhorns elected by their teammates as a captain for the 2019 season. Johnson finished his career with 188 receptions (sixth-most in school history) for 2,624 yards (fifth-most in school history) and 15 touchdowns. He was named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award in 2019 and was a first team preseason All-Big 12 selection by Phil Steele that same season.
All-Americans to wear No. 9
Kwame Cavil, WR, 1999
