For Khaled Holmes, football, brains run in family

IndyStar Colts beat writer Stephen Holder talks with a member of the team each week for a wide-ranging, offbeat conversation that sheds light on their personality, background and interests.

This week: center Khaled Holmes

Question: You come from a football-playing family. I wonder whether that shaped your interest in pursuing football or did you just gravitate to it on your own?

Answer: "My dad played at Michigan for Bo Shembechler. My brother played at USC and played two years in the NFL, and my brother-in-law (Steelers All-Pro Troy Polamalu) played at USC and he's still playing. The problem for me was that I couldn't play football until I was in high school. I was too big (for youth ball). But I always did love it, back when I was kid watching it on Sundays with my dad. And my brother (Alex Holmes) is nine years older so I was able to watch him go through high school and college and excel and win all those national titles at USC and play in the NFL, it was just real inspiration. I saw all the best of it."

Q: You went to Mater Dei High School in California, which is such a football factory with two national titles. How did that propel you in your football career?

A: "We moved in sixth grade, and we learned about the high schools in the area and it was just a great opportunity. I loved every minute I was there. I had a great coach, who is still there, Bruce Rollinson. He's been there since '89 and he's just been like a father to so many men. He's a great man and he really helped me in my career. But the school itself is awesome, too."

Q: Who are some of the players you played with there?

A: "Well, my quarterback was Matt Barkley. I've known Matt since I was in sixth grade. We're probably best friends. He's a great guy. I was his left tackle in high school and his center in college. That was awesome. We had some guys who ended up at UCLA, Chris Ward, who was an offensive lineman, Andrew Abbott, who walked on and earned a scholarship at UCLA and became a good cornerback for them, Cameron Meredith, who became a defensive end at Nebraska. I'll probably forget some guys. We definitely had some great high school athletes. They didn't all go on to have college careers, but they were great high school players."

Q: Are you still working on your master's degree? And what were you studying?

A:" I finished it. I did my undergraduate in classics and communication. It was a double major. And then I did my master's in digital and social media. So, I went through it in 4 ½ years."

Q: Football is working out for you, but if not for football, what do you think your career path would have been? Or maybe even after football?

A:"It's definitely something that athletes are more cognizant of after seeing all the stories out there and knowing how short careers last in this league. I'm really not sure what I want to do. I was just kind preparing for life to be ready for when that time comes to be able to make a decision. But I'm just not sure what I want to do yet."

Q: Well, you definitely seem to have some diverse interests, right?

A: "Well, majoring in classics, it was mostly about ancient Greece and Rome. I'm into philosophy, art and architecture. That was my first major. I'm half Greek, so I was really interested in that. It's not the most practical degree, maybe, so I also added the communications degree. So, I really got interested in technology through that, computers, digital, mobile, cell phones, software. I mean, I don't know how to code or anything, but in my master's program, we actually developed an app for iOs. We got a $10,000 grant to do that. That was really fun. Those are my two main interests. They're definitely polar opposites though."

Q: You strike me as a guy who was really serious about school, which is something people don't associate with the stereotypical football player.

A: "That's true on occasion, but I don't think it's different than people who go to school and just party. There's different approaches. But we really emphasized education in my family and I was fortunate to grow up around that. My brother did well in school. My sister did very well in school. It's just part of it in my family. And I think having that work ethic in that part of life translates to athletics. To all arenas, really."

Q: So, now my weekly questions: What music is on your playlist nowadays?

A: "A lot of gospel right now. I'm all over the place with music. I like Marvin Sapp, Tye Tribbett. And I also try to look at all the new releases on Tuesdays to see if anything sticks. Recently, there hasn't been too much."

Q: What website do you visit most?

A: "Definitely Reddit.com. I'm a big geek."

Q: And finally, what person on social media do you find most interesting to follow?

A:"(ESPN commentator) Bomani Jones. I started following him after the situation with the Clipper owner (Donald Sterling) and he had a really good view on that. Ever since then, I've found that he's had a lot of good takes on race and culture. He gets a little controversial at times, but it's fun to see him interact with fans. He's fun to follow."

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.