EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Upon entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2011, St. Louis Rams center Tim Barnes had moments where he wondered if he'd ever be more than a guy constantly fighting for a roster spot.

Barnes spent most of the past four years in that constant state of flux. On Wednesday, after playing coy for a bit, Rams coach Jeff Fisher offered Barnes one hefty dose of validation for all his hard work.

"Tim Barnes is starting at center," Fisher announced after the team's practice. "I'm happy for Tim."

For the Rams, a decision on a starting center had been roughly six months in the making. For Barnes, becoming one has been four-plus years in the making.

After a solid career at Missouri, Barnes wasn't selected in the 2011 NFL draft. He signed with Baltimore in July that year but was released before the season. The Rams signed Barnes to their practice squad a little more than a week later and he stayed there for the rest of the season. The Rams thought enough of Barnes to keep him on a futures contract and he again started the season on the practice squad before finally earning a promotion to the roster early in the 2012 season.

Barnes stayed on the roster for 15 games but never got many opportunities. Finally, in 2013, he earned his first NFL start, making four in place of injured starter Scott Wells at the end of the season. While he established himself as part of the team's depth, he never did much more than help on special teams or serve as an extra lineman in goal line and short yardage situations in 2014.

During the offseason, the Rams declined to tender Barnes a restricted free agent offer. Just when it appeared he might move on after visiting Kansas City, the Rams re-signed him on March 31. Barnes jumped into a three-way competition with Demetrius Rhaney and Barrett Jones for the starting center job. As Jones proved, being in the competition put all three players in a sort of NFL no-man's land where the winner would be a starter but those who didn't win the spot might be out of a job.

Barnes not only survived the cut but won the job, a victory that proved a bit emotional for him Wednesday afternoon.

"It’s a huge step, obviously, in my career," Barnes said. "You guys know what I have been through coming in as an undrafted guy and having to work my way up. It’s huge for me and my family. I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited, I’m happy."

In what was a close battle at the position, Barnes ultimately won out for a few reasons.

First, while it's not a huge sample size, Barnes was the only one of the three contenders to come with any starting experience in the NFL. His four starts in 2013 included the season finale at Seattle, a game that should help Barnes handle just about anything thrown his way early in the season.

Fisher and offensive line coach Paul Boudreau have also praised Barnes' intelligence and comfort in the scheme. He was clearly the most diligent of the three starters when it came to calling out adjustments at the line of scrimmage during the preseason.

Finally, Barnes has made it a point to add strength and become more stout at the line. Fisher and guard Rodger Saffold said Barnes has pushed hard in the weight room to make that happen, particularly in his lower body.

"With him, what it really came down to is his knowledge and the way he’s been attacking everything on and off the field," Saffold said. "He does a good job of knowing what he’s doing, getting better at technique and in the weight room, doing very well in the weight room. He’s taken so many strides over the past four years."

Those strides have finally landed Barnes the starting job he's coveted since he came into the league. A league that, at the time, was dealing with a lockout and had Barnes wondering about his long term future in the NFL.

"It was a very different year because we didn’t have OTAs, we didn’t have minicamp, we had training camp and that was it," Barnes said. "As I got older, stayed around, obviously, (and when I) played I was like ‘Yeah, I can do this.'"