Khaled Holmes Will Start at Center for the Colts on Sunday

When the Colts opened the game on Sunday against the Cowboys, Khaled Holmes was with the starting offensive line at center, which came as a surprise.  Holmes played all 62 offensive snaps in his first start at center, and that led to many wondering whether the benching of Jonotthan Harrison was permanent and whether Holmes would continue to start.

The answer to those questions is yes.  Colts head coach Chuck Pagano announced today that Khaled Holmes will start at center on Sunday against the Titans.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pagano says Khaled Holmes will start at center this week.</p>&mdash; Kevin Bowen (@KBowenColts) <a href="https://twitter.com/KBowenColts/status/547456325392039940">December 23, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This announcement comes just one day after Pagano refused to say who would start.  He pretended like continuity was important along the line while then not saying who would start at the center position.  Yesterday, Pagano said that Holmes and Harrison would both get reps in practice this week and that the Colts would then make a decision on who to start.  But today, on Tuesday, Pagano already announced who will start, and it's Holmes (as expected).

The center position has been a constant question mark for the Colts this season ever since they benched A.Q. Shipley after the fourth game.  They went to Jonotthan Harrison, who then started the next ten games, though he didn't play well and seemed to get worse as the season went on.  That led to the Colts benching Harrison for Holmes, who was inactive for the first ten games of this season and had never started a game at center for Indy before.  He'll now make his second start on Sunday.

Holmes was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2013 draft out of USC, and he was drafted to be the "center of the future" by the Colts.  In fact, all offseason long he was considered the starting center and Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano adamantly defended him.  But then he was injured on the first drive of preseason and that resulted in him missing the remainder of the preseason, giving Harrison the chance to start.  But with Harrison also dealing with an injury and not feeling totally comfortable with an undrafted free agent starting week one in Denver, the Colts claimed A.Q. Shipley off of waivers - the same player they traded away following the 2012 season.  All along, however, many thought that the Colts still wanted to see what Holmes could do.  It was clear that Jonotthan Harrison had leaped Holmes and that the Colts were seeing whether he could be the "center of the future," but now it looks like the Colts are interested in seeing what Holmes can do.  He came into a game at right guard in relief earlier this season and did a good job, and now they're giving him the chance at center to see what he can do.  It makes perfect sense, since the Colts are adamant about keeping A.Q. Shipley on the bench, and with Holmes being a fourth round pick last year, with him being their starting center all offseason, with how much Grigson and Pagano defended him, and with how much Harrison was struggling, this move really doesn't come as a surprise.

Khaled Holmes will start his second game in a row on Sunday when the Colts play the Titans, Chuck Pagano announced today.  Do you think this was the right move?