Julius Holt doesn’t quite remember how his national signing day went back in 1981.
He was a linebacker out of Ellsworth Junior College in Iowa, ready to commit to Larry Smith’s Arizona Wildcats.
He wasn’t highly touted, in part because there wasn’t much touting back then.
There were no Twitter announcements, internet videos or signing day ceremonies in front of friends, family, coaches and teammates.
And you can be sure Holt didn’t place three school’s hats on a table in front of him, then declare on a live television broadcast where he’d be attending school by wearing one of those hats.
“It was nothing like this,” Holt said. “I remember getting my letter in the mail, I signed it, and send it back. There was no fanfare at my high school, wasn’t no videos and three-stars and four-stars and five-stars. You just showed up and played.”
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Show up, and play.
If only the life of a college football recruit was so simple.
Holt can take pride in the fact that his son simplified the process. Salpointe Catholic defensive lineman Justin Holt will follow in his father’s footsteps as a Wildcat after signing his national letter of intent Wednesday morning.
After school, Holt took part in a singing day ceremony for Salpointe’s college-bound athletes.
Wearing a blue Arizona shirt with the word “LOYALTY” imprinted across the front, Holt spoke to an audience about his journey to becoming a Wildcat like his dad. In the crowd, a handful of family members wore Arizona shirts with his name on the back of them.
Other than that, it’s been a smooth ride in an otherwise bumpy recruiting season for Arizona. Holt, rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com, verbally committed in March of last year. He has never wavered.
LOYALTY, for sure.
“Going into the recruiting process, I told myself that I wanted to go to the school that wanted me the most, and U of A was that school,” Holt said Wednesday.
“They jumped on me first. There were other schools recruiting me from the Pac-12 as well, but they were kind of lackadaisical about it and weren’t making as a big of a push as the U of A did.”
Justin Holt will wear No. 50, just like his dad, but the comparisons probably stop there. The UA lists Justin at 6 feet 4 inches and 285 pounds; Julius Holt played linebacker at 235 pounds.
Holt found out he’d be wearing the same number as his father from Matt Dudek, Arizona’s recruiting coordinator, who informed him in the midst of a live stream even the UA holds on signing day every year.
“That made the day great,” Holt said. “I’ve been wearing the No. 50 since I was little, and being able to wear that in college, it’s an honor for me and something I’ve always wanted to do.”
He has always wanted to be a Wildcat, too.
Justin’s godfather, Van Brandon, was a UA standout. When Justin verbally committed to Arizona last year, both Lamonte and Ricky Hunley jubilantly called the Holt family to congratulate them.
“I remember taking Justin when he was 5 years old, 6 years old, running around the U of A,” Julius Holt said. “He’s been around a lot of U of A legends, a lot of U of A players, and he knows what it takes. He will put himself in position to compete for a job, and I think he’s up to the task.”
Arizona does, too — this is not just a “legacy recruit” for the sake of adding someone with UA blood.
Rich Rodriguez says the kid can play.
“We’ve known about him since he was a freshman,” Rodriguez said. “We identified him early. He had a great high school career. He plays in a great program. He’s a legacy guy. Knows all about Arizona.
“He’s athletic, and he could play on both sides of the ball.”
Holt helped Salpointe win a state title 2012 and has recorded 206 tackles — and 21.5 tackles-for-loss — over the last four years.
Arizona needs big bodies on its defensive line, and Holt fits the mold. Currently, only one player on the roster — Marcus Griffin — even weighs 300 pounds.
So will Holt play right away? Who knows?
But he will wear cardinal and navy, No. 50, and he’ll make his father proud.
“Since I was little, he’s been my coach,” Holt said. “Just pushing me out in the park on Sunday and Saturday when we don’t have practice. I can be a headache sometimes, but he’s always there.”
Julius added, “It’s a dream come true for my whole entire family.”
