The accolades continue to stream in for Northwestern’s Justin Holmes.

The latest comes from the Pennsylvania Football Writers Association, who picked the Kent State-bound quarterback for the class 4A All-State Team. Holmes was the only 4A player from the area to be named to the team. Earlier in the offseason, Holmes was chosen as the first-team quarterback for the Colonial League by the Colonial League Football Coaches Association (CLFCA).

Last season, Holmes was also named to the all-state team under the Athlete category, designated to highlight the best overall offensive student-athletes. In both 2018 and 2019, Northwestern’s Deven Bollinger was picked by the writers to be the quarterback on the all-state team.

Holmes has been heralded throughout both the Colonial League and the Lehigh Valley for his accomplishments this past season, as well as over his high school career.

He started offensively as a wide receiver, but with the graduation of Bollinger following the 2019 season, Holmes took over the quarterback position. He came within just over 200 receiving yards of becoming the first player in District 11 to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in rushing, receiving, and passing for his career.

Tigers head coach Josh Snyder attempted to get Holmes over the 1,000-yard receiving mark, but was unable to because the team often rested starters when Northwestern had its opponents in a mercy rule situation.

“Justin is a tremendous athlete, and he was always very popular with teammates because of the effort he puts into everything that he does,” said Snyder. “He had the attitude that he was willing to do anything that we asked him to do. His combination of athleticism and instincts made him tough to stop.”

In his senior season, Holmes led the Tigers to the district finals, with the game coming down to the final play to determine the championship.

On that play, Holmes - who had broken his thumb earlier in the game - threw to the end zone with the ball winding up just out of the reach of Taylor Wikert. On the year, Holmes threw for 1,305 yards and rushed for 1,329. He reached the end zone 20 times on the ground, threw for 18 touchdowns, and scored another TD as a receiver on one of four passes he caught on the season.

For his career, Holmes threw for just under 2,700 yards, while picking up over 2,500 yards on the ground. He also added 791 yards receiving. The yardage led him to 81 career touchdowns for Northwestern over four seasons.

The overall athleticism that Holmes displayed attracted several colleges to recruit him, but in the end, Holmes selected Kent State, where he will be grouped with the tight ends, but will primarily work as a receiver out of the slot position.

“I think he will fit in very well with Kent State. I know they liked his athleticism and how he fit in with teammates,” said Snyder. “Most players have a bit of a learning curve when they go to the college level and it is different, of course, but Justin will adapt pretty quickly.”

While his offensive play overshadowed his accomplishments on defense, the CLFCA also chose Holmes as an outside linebacker for the league’s first-team defense. During his high school career, he also played basketball and baseball, but the thumb injury and an accelerated training regimen for football has sidelined him from playing those sports in his senior season.

Kent State is getting a player who will provide not just athleticism, but is the type of player who will fit himself into any position the team needs him to play. Just as he did with the Tigers, Holmes will also likely become a team leader for the Golden Flashes.

“When Justin was out of the game in those mercy rule situations, he would be coaching up younger players on the sidelines and cheering them on,” Snyder remembered. “He loves to see teammates succeed, and he is quick to give them credit even for helping him be a better player. That’s what makes him such a good leader, and he will carry that on to the college level.”