California, or Bust!

"I know a lot of guys commit early but that's not what I want to do," Khaled Holmes said. "I don't want to jump into it too fast. It's the most important decision of my life so far and I don't want to rush it." In fact, Holmes is taking things so slowly that he hasn't even set up any official visits yet. "I haven't really been thinking about it," he said. "They've all asked me about it..."

Khaled Holmes, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound four-star offensive lineman from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., still says there's a "90 percent" chance he'll end up signing with USC, however he denies moving any closer to making a final decision.

"I know a lot of guys commit early but that's not what I want to do," Holmes said. "I don't want to jump into it too fast. It's the most important decision of my life so far and I don't want to rush it."

In fact, Holmes is taking things so slowly that he hasn't even set up any official visits yet. "I haven't really been thinking about it," he said. "They've all asked me about it and said that whenever I'm ready to visit I can."

Holmes did unofficially attend the Trojans' game against Washington State on Sept. 22. "It's a great atmosphere," he said. "It's really fun and the whole place just goes nuts. I love the Coliseum and it was cool to go back there under different circumstances (Holmes' brother is former Trojan tight end Alex Holmes).

"They are playing pretty dominant and seem pretty solid all the way around."

USC continues to lead big over California and Stanford. All of Holmes' favorites have offered and he says he has over 20 total rides. One of those offers is from Notre Dame, who used to be among his favorites. "I just didn't see myself leaving California," he said. "I wanted to narrow it down and simplify things and that's why I'm down to these three."

Holmes, ranked the No. 18 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, says he's been relatively impressed with the new Stanford coaches thus far. "They are doing a good job," he said. "I haven't really seen any of their games but I know they've been getting better and playing pretty hard.

"I've also heard a lot of great things about the offensive line coach (Jim Michalczik) at Cal," Holmes said. "He seems like a good guy and like a real players coach. He relates to his players well."

So what would the Bears or Cardinal have to do to sway Holmes away from the Trojans? "I don't think it's gonna be anything the other schools do," he said. "I think it's gonna be more about the feeling I get."

He reports a 3.5 core GPA and a 1970 SAT.