Former Notre Dame running back CJ Holmes has walked on at Penn State, as first reported by Lions247. He will have to sit out the 2018 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Holmes was spotted at Penn State’s Lift for Life event last Saturday in Holuba Hall, but has yet to be added to the team’s official roster. He played in eight games as a true freshman in South Bend last season, finishing with eight carries for 32 yards.

Holmes, a four-star recruit from Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, enrolled at Notre Dame in January 2017. A former lacrosse player from Hamden, CT, Holmes will have three years of eligibility left beginning in 2019.

Head coach Brian Kelly dismissed Holmes and teammate Kevin Stepherson from the program after the pair was charged with shoplifting from a Macy’s in Mishawaka, IN, on Dec. 15. Neither played in the team’s 21-17 Citrus Bowl win over LSU.

Holmes held a scholarship offer from the Nittany Lions in high school, but with the team already at its full allotment of 85 scholarships this season, he will have to earn his way onto the field the hard way next year. 

Holmes joins a Penn State running backs room that features Miles Sanders, Mark Allen, Journey Brown, Johnathan Thomas, and Ricky Slade. Holmes will provide solid depth and could make an impact on special teams once he’s eligible.