Khaled Holmes stood at his locker as the center of attention for more than one reason at the Indianapolis Colts facility Wednesday.
With the much-needed release of Samson Satele last month and the surprising retirement of Phil Costa earlier this week, Holmes has the inside track to be the Colts' starting center next season after having a "redshirt" rookie season.
"You've got to embrace every aspect of it," Holmes said while being surrounded by media. "I look forward to this kind of [attention]. I'll get used to it and grow in every way."
The Colts have been selling Holmes hard ever since Satele, last season's starter, was released.
Holmes only played 12 snaps as a rookie after missing most of training camp with an ankle injury. But the optimism is high because he started 37 games while at USC.
"I just look at it as a great opportunity," Holmes said. "It's absolutely a challenge. It's one I welcome and look forward to."
I don't think there's a word to describe what Holmes is getting himself in. He's expected to work hand-in-hand with quarterback Andrew Luck, the team's franchise player.
Luck, despite the lack of a lot of reps with Holmes, said he's "very comfortable" with him. He described Holmes as being a "great football player ... a smart, cerebral guy."
The offseason and training camp will be huge for the two so that they can develop continuity before the games really count and before the Denver Broncos' improved defense tries to get after Luck in Week 1.
"You forget how many reps you end up taking with the center just in practice and everything, and we obviously don't have that great of an amount of reps so it will be very important during this workout OTA season to get all those reps with Khaled and whoever else is going to be snapping the ball," Luck said.
