Photo via: G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images
Former Ohio State and longtime NFL wide receiver Santonio Holmes was named on Monday as the wide receivers coach at Central State University.
Holmes joins Central State — a Division II HBCU program located in Wilberforce, Ohio, and led by former NFL and Florida State cornerback Tony Carter — with major football pedigree at the NFL and collegiate level. He played nine successful seasons in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2006-09), New York Jets (2010-13) and Chicago Bears (2014), hauling in 389 career catches for 6,030 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Holmes’ NFL career is perhaps best known for his game-winning, toe-tapping catch late in Pittsburgh’s 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLII in 2009, which helped him be named Super Bowl MVP after the game. Holmes is the only Ohio State product to earn that honor in NFL history.
Holmes, a Belle Glade, Florida native, also experienced a successful career in college at Ohio State. After redshirting for the team’s 2002 national championship season, he played three productive years for the Jim Tressel-led Buckeyes, finishing his career with 140 receptions, 2,295 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns, marks that rank 12th, 10th and sixth in school history.
Holmes will now bring his pass-catching experiences to the coaching sphere for the first time in his career. He joins a Marauders program that is coming off a 1-9 season with a 1-7 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
