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f e a t u r e : g a b e h o l m e s Potentially Potent Holmes looking to break through in last chance Tom Campbell Gabe Holmes is tired of hearing about his potential, but in order to fully silence that characterization, he'll need to show results on the field in his senior season. BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com G abe Holmes remembers the play vividly. In overtime at Ohio State last season, with Purdue looking to earn one of the biggest upsets in its history, Holmes had a chance to help the Boilermakers match the Buckeyes' score. On first down, he ran a post pattern, flashing open just inside the 15-yard line. He was matched up one-on-one with a smaller defender sealed off behind. He was open, and Caleb TerBush's pass was on tarGBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com get. Catch it and Holmes might be able to turn up field, and maybe even dance into the end zone. "I knew the ball was coming to me," Purdue's senior tight end said recently, thinking back on the play. "You just tell yourself: 'Don't drop it, don't drop it' to the point where you drop it. You focus on not catching it. I knew the ball was coming to me even before the ball was snapped. I knew it, and I just dropped it. "I was like 'Man, this is exactly what I've been practicing for.' It was in the 'Shoe and it was in overtime and we had them (beat). … To go out there and fail depleted my confidence a little." Now, Holmes is trying to get it back and doing so in his final season of a career that has promised so much but thus far delivered so little. Why has that been so? The reasons are multifaceted. But to start, let's take a look at Holmes' mindset. He's heard the word "potential" since he first started taking football seriously as a junior in high school in Florida. The characterization can be a blessing — it means a player could be very good — but is potentially Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 • 31