Christian Holmes (born September 14, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fr ...

and

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

and was selected by the Commanders in the seventh round of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early life

Holmes played

and wide receiver for McNair High School in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. He committed to play college football at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

College career

Missouri Tigers

As a true freshman for the

, he played minimally in 10 games and recorded only a single tackle. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his second season due to a shoulder injury in a pre-season scrimmage. He played in 13 games as a redshirt sophomore and started eight, recording 12 pass break-ups and two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

, one of which he returned for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

. Holmes would transfer to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in February 2020.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

In his first season with Oklahoma State, Holmes would play in all 11 games and started the final 2. He had 25 total tackles, and 6 broken-up passes. He would start 13 games in his final collegiate season, including the

2021 Big 12 Championship Game The 2021 Big 12 Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was the 20th edition of the Big 12 Championship Game, and determined the champion of the Big 12 Conference for the ...

, and was named to the All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

second-team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

while also receiving All-Big 12 Academic honors. Holmes finished the season with 39 tackles, an interception, and seven pass-breakups.

Professional career

Holmes was selected by the

in the seventh round (240th overall) of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 6, 2022. In Week 6 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

, Holmes made a key

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

play in the fourth quarter when he recovered a muffed punt by Chicago returner

Velus Jones Jr. Velus Tyler Phillip Jones Jr. (born May 11, 1997) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC before transferring to Tennessee. Ear ...

on the Bears six-yard line. This would lead to the Commanders' only touchdown in their 12-7 victory over the Bears.

References

External links

*
Washington Commanders bio

Oklahoma State Cowboys bio

Missouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Christian Living people Oklahoma State Cowboys football players People from Leland, Mississippi Missouri Tigers football players Players of American football from Mississippi American football cornerbacks Washington Commanders players 1997 births