Justin Holmes brings football pedigree and captaincy to SlamBall's Gryphons

Justin Holmes gives the Gryphons something SlamBall teams cannot fake: a first-round leader with football production, straight-line speed and the body type to survive the league’s collisions. Listed by SlamBall at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, the Roseville, California native already showed his value in the 2023 opener, when he scored 14 points in a Gryphons loss while Connor Hollenbeck added seven stops.

That combination is why Holmes matters beyond the box score. SlamBall lists him as a gunner, and his profile reads like a blueprint for the position. At Oakmont High School, he caught 120 passes for 1,891 yards and 25 touchdowns, while also lettering in basketball and competing as a hurdler and jumper on the track and field team. That kind of multi-sport base fits a game built on speed, balance and the ability to finish above the rim without losing control.

Holmes carried that production into San Jose State, where he became a steady target over four seasons. He finished with 99 receptions for 1,192 yards and five touchdowns, and he caught passes in 20 consecutive games across the end of 2015 and the early part of 2017. San Jose State listed him as a fifth-year senior in 2018 and its top returning wide receiver in games played, starts, receptions and receiving yards, with 36 games played and 18 starts. That volume work matters in SlamBall, where possessions can turn chaotic in a hurry but reliable hands still separate the best attackers from the rest.

The Gryphons are asking Holmes to do more than finish plays. Their roster also includes Adam Stanford, Kyshawn Jones, Jace Bass, Matthew Wilkerson, Deshawn Kelly and Jordan Grant, a mix that gives the team different body types and skill sets around him. Holmes stands at the center of that group as both a scorer and a tone-setter, the kind of player who can push transition pressure, attack the glass and keep the pace from slipping.

After college, Holmes spent time with the Iowa Barnstormers of the IFL and later worked as a healthcare recruiter in Sacramento while launching his Game Changer Gear brand. That path adds to the appeal: he is not just an athlete trying to translate, but a seasoned professional whose football résumé and track speed give the Gryphons a captain built to impose tempo and toughness from the opening whistle.