An Illinois wide receiver and return man has decided to step away from the football program.

Jordan Holmes, a junior walk-on with the program, announced on Instagram that his time with the Fighting Illini has come to a conclusion. Despite being a walk-on, Holmes saw significant playing time during his career in Champaign. He spent two seasons with the program.

“This will be a surprise for many of you but my time as a football player at the University of Illinois has come to a close,” Holmes wrote. “I want to say thank you to everyone who made living out my dream possible. The game of football has brought me so many friendships, experiences and memories that I’ll cherish forever.

“First off, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play at the Division 1 level in the B1G. Thank you to my parents and the rest of my family for all the constant love and support you gave me throughout this entire experience. I couldn’t have done this without you all by my side. To everyone from my small town of Columbia, IL, this is where it all started for me and you all helped me stay the course to get to where I am today and I can’t thank you all enough.

“To my teammates, I love you all from the bottom of my heart and the bonds we created will stay with me forever. You all pushed me every single day to be my best and helped me through the times that got tough. Thank you for all the lifelong memories we created, I won’t forget the times we had together at practice, on road trips, in the locker room and on game days, those are all things that will stay with me forever.

In his two years with the program, Holmes appeared in 19 games. Last season, he was Illinois’ top punt returner, totaling 73 yards on 10 attempts. Holmes also was credited with 2 receptions for 16 yards. He missed the final three games of the season due to a knee injury.

As a freshman in 2018, Holmes had two catches for 23 yards and fielded 3 punts for 2 yards.

Before ending his career with the Fighting Illini, Holmes thanked the fans for their loyal support over the last two years.

“Illini Nation, THANK YOU. You are the best fans in the nation and I won’t forget the 2 years I had playing in front of y’all,” Holmes wrote. “This is the end of my journey, thank you to everyone who made this experience so special to me, I will always bleed Orange & Blue, ILL.”