GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Before the NCAA Transfer Portal turned college football into a continuously flowing assembly line of mostly backups seeking perceived short term gain and quick cash, a transfer came with more thought because a player had to sit out a year before becoming eligible again.
Players still left for more playing time, but tended to benefit from a more patient reset and a change of scenery.
Maybe this will help former LSU running back Trey Holly of Union Parish High in Farmerville near the Louisiana-Arkansas state line. Holly, who signed with the Tigers in December of 2022 as the state’s all-time leading rusher with 10,532 yards but has not played since gaining 110 yards in three games in 2023, has walked on at Southern and practiced on Tuesday.
— Trey Holly (@DrippyTrey2) July 23, 2025
Southern coach Terrence Graves told reporters on Tuesday that Holly has enrolled at Southern and is eligible as a walk-on for the 2025 season, which opens for the Jaguars at Atlanta on Aug. 23 against North Carolina-Central.
“We’re going to give him an opportunity to be a part of our program,” Graves said. “We’re not going to put a whole lot of added pressure on him.”
Holly sat out all of 2024 at LSU. But not per NCAA transfer rules, which began allowing immediate transfers in 2021.
LSU RUNNING BACK TREY HOLLY ARRESTED ON SECOND DEGREE MURDER CHARGE
Holly sat out the 2024 season with the Tigers on immediate suspension after being charged with attempted second degree murder, illegal use of a gun, and a third felony charge of property damage on February 19 in Farmerville. Keisha Cornett and a man were injured by gunshot wounds on Feb. 9 stemming from an incident allegedly involving Holly and others at the Union Villa apartments in Farmerville.
In Louisiana, second degree murder happens “when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm.”
If convicted of such a charge, it can mean a prison life sentence. Holly was released after a brief stay in jail on bond in February of 2024.
“I have been falsely identified,” Holly said at the time. “I am 100 percent innocent, and the people that know me know this is not my character at all. I was not involved in the incident at all.”
A Farmerville grand jury did not believe that, but it did reject the second-degree murder charge against the football star on April 5, 2024, and lessened the charge to felony illegal use of a gun.
. @LSUfootball @CoachBrianKelly responds to the latest news on running back Trey Holly. #LSU pic.twitter.com/b3y0aXtaR1
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) April 6, 2024
Just after that ruling, LSU football coach Brian Kelly thought he would have Holly back soon.
“They’re talking about some time in the middle of April that we could see a full resolution to this,” he said on April 6, 2024. “At that time, we’ll begin the process in assisting him for reinstatement, and we’ll advocate for him on his behalf. And welcome him back.”
That never happened as new evidence via bodycam footage allegedly showing Holly was introduced at a hearing on Sept. 18, 2024, and Cornett spoke.
“I got shot twice in my back. I got grazed on the side of my chest, and it hit my lungs,” Cornett said at the hearing. “I want him (Holly) to get punished, because I don’t deserve this. I’m an innocent person. Thank God that I’m here and I’m still living.”
A myriad of delays and rescheduling have occurred since, and Holly is still awaiting trial on one felony charge of illegal use of a gun. The latest delay happened this month on July 7 when the trial was postponed because of a broken air conditioner in the Union Parish courthouse and rescheduled for Aug. 28.
Southern plays at Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 30.
LSU, which opens the season on Aug. 30 at Clemson (6:30 p.m., ABC), still had Holly listed on its roster on the school’s sports website Wednesday morning.
“Tough runner who adds quality depth to the running back position,” Holly’s bio states. “Did not play for the Tigers in 2024.”
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