Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Reveal Dates for Fans to Get First Look at Anthony Richardson

Starting point is 00:00:00 We finally know now when fans are going to get to see Anthony Richardson up close and personal for the first time. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right. What's up, everyone? Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I am Jake Arthur, writing solo today.

Starting point is 00:00:50 And today we're going to talk a little bit about training camp because we finally know the schedule. We know the dates, themes, times, all that stuff. The Colts released that information on Tuesday night. So with someone who is there covering everything day to day, getting boots on the ground, I'll just give you kind of my take on it. We'll dive into some of the more key points of the schedule, as well as guys who I think have the right recipe to shine on offense and defense. Rules are they can't already be someone who's kind of broken out to the Colts fans

Starting point is 00:01:25 specifically they're hopefully going to make a name for themselves this summer so to start out there are going to be 13 open practices to fans it is free again once again this year but you do have to have tickets they have the clear bag policy everything there's really no change there from if you've been to training camp anytime in the last few years, it's pretty much business as usual. Most of these 13 practices are morning ones. It looks like Shane Steichen is a morning guy. It's usually the coaching staff that determines what time of day they practice. Now remember last year, the Colts shifted to more of a noon start time to try and

Starting point is 00:02:06 get ahead of their slow starts that they'd been having the week one stuff. They wanted to shake off those losses. It did not matter. So it's going to be mostly morning stuff. For those of you who have been to Grand Park there before, those morning practices can get real muggy. So just prepare for that. There's also three practices on weekends. So if you're someone who just cannot get time off during the week, there are going to be some there for you as well. There's also going to be four night practices. Those are always awesome. Everyone loves to go to those pretty much standing room only on those. So it's Saturday, July 29th. That practice is from 6 to 7.30. Saturday, August 5th, again, 6 to 7.30.

Starting point is 00:02:51 And then on Wednesday and Thursday, August 16th and 17th, that's the last two practices of training camp. Those will be from 6 to 8. Those will be the joint practices with the Bears ahead of their preseason matchup, the Bears here in Indy. So that'll be fun. Again, a lot of people from Illinois, I'm sure, will be coming in for that. So be sure to get your tickets already if you're dragging your feet on that.

Starting point is 00:03:17 So it looks like, again, they're going to have their first practice July 26th. That's a Wednesday, which means they should be reporting the day before. We'll get our hands on these guys and get to talk to them a little bit that day when they report. We usually get a handful of players. Chris Ballard will speak. Shane Steichen might say something as well. So the players may get started practicing on the 26th, but we'll have more for you on the day before. And then again, final practice. It's that last joint practice with the Bears on Thursday, August 17th. So remember, kind of peppered in throughout all this is the preseason schedule.

Starting point is 00:03:56 They've got week one on August 12th at 1 p.m. against the Buffalo Bills. That's in Buffalo. Next one is, again, at home. It's when they host the Bears. August 19th at 7 p.m. That's when Buffalo. Next one is again at home. It's when they host the Bears August 19th at 7 p.m. That's when that one will be at Lucas Oil. And then their final preseason is on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles on August 24th at 8 p.m. They're actually going to have joint practices with the Eagles that week as well, but that will be out in Philadelphia. That's why only 13 open practices for fans this year.

Starting point is 00:04:27 And it's closing a little earlier. It's because they're going out to Philadelphia. So that explains that the Colts have been hosting teams for, it seems like four or so years now, four or five years in a row. Now this is the first time I can remember in a while that they're actually going somewhere else during joint practices, but it should be fun. I'm looking forward to it.

Starting point is 00:04:48 This is definitely one of my favorite chunks of the NFL calendar every year. Just that grinding it out at training camp stuff. You know, it's hot. You're taking a lot of notes. I'm always excited about taking my notes and putting those out at horseshoehuddle.com for you guys after each practice. And then we'll also hop on here. Zach and I'll talk each day on Locked On Colts. I'll have my guys, you know, Andrew Moore will be there. Zach, I'm hoping is able to get out there for some Drake Wally, Dustin Adams. So a lot of the names you know from horseshoehuddle.com as well. I'm hoping to have those guys that with me some days at camps.

Starting point is 00:05:25 You'll hear from them as well. You won't just get my perspective on it. But that is pretty much it, you know, kind of the highlights of the training camp schedule. The Colts will have all that stuff. You can order your tickets and get further details on the themes and all that over at colts.com. They have a whole training camp section. So if you're wondering anything about that,

Starting point is 00:05:46 you can go ahead and head over there. Next, again, I'm going to talk to you about some guys on offense who I think have a chance to be stars during training camp. You know, there's always kind of some common themes each year, so we'll see how some of these guys shake out. But before we get into that, a word from our friends over at FanDuel. Take your first swing at betting on the MLB at FanDuel and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to $200. That's right.

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Starting point is 00:07:19 heading into training camp there in late July. We're also going to start diving into some AFC South previews. We've got chats lined up with the other guys from the AFC South, Titans, Jaguars, Texans. So those will always be good chats. Those guys are real lively and bring a lot of knowledge to the table. So we're really looking forward to that, as well as talking to some other experts around the league, their take on the Colts, you know, what their teams that they cover are up to. So we're definitely going to have fun with that. So coming up now, every year, there are offensive players that fans either in attendance there at the training camp practices or during the

Starting point is 00:08:00 preseason games, what have you, they just fall in love with these guys. And there's always kind of some common themes with them. Quarterbacks, honestly, whenever your quarterback situation just absolutely stinks, it seems like the QB3 or QB4 is always someone who fans are clamoring for because they perform well in the preseason. We've seen that with Stephen Morris, Chad Kelly, Sam Ellinger, just to name a few from recent years. I think it's going to be a different thing with the Colts this year.

Starting point is 00:08:29 All eyes are obviously going to be on Anthony Richardson and whether or not he's going to be able to win that quarterback battle with Gardner Minshew. But that one's a little bit too much of a layup. I'm also not going to mention guys like Drew Ogletree already had his big summer last year. Ashton Doolin is someone everyone has known for a while. Jelani Woods already has huge expectations.

Starting point is 00:08:50 So I'm looking at a couple little X factors here. Evan Hull and Xavier Scott, both kind of running backs. Evan Hull definitely is a running back. But Xavier Scott is a receiver kind of by trade, but has been getting a lot of work with the running backs as well. Uh, both of these guys, I think are going to be really interesting. Let's say they're both at running back. They're pass catchers. You know, they can make things happen out in space. Uh, really good hands. Hulk caught 55 passes just last year alone

Starting point is 00:09:20 at Northwestern Xavier Scott in his last three years there with Maine, he's got 75 carries for 494 yards. That was a 6.6 yard average with six scores. He also caught 60 passes for 649 yards. That's over 10 yards of catch with another couple scores. The guy has returned kicks. He's thrown a few passes. He's even played a little bit of defense. So this guy literally can do whatever you want. I know Zach and Dustin Adams had a long conversation with him over on the Horseshoe Huddle YouTube page. If you guys have never caught that, that was a really interesting chat that they had. But no, this guy was signed by the Colts as a receiver, but has been getting a lot of work with the running backs,

Starting point is 00:10:04 especially with Jonathan Taylor and Zach Moss out. Xavier Scott got a lot of work with them. And so I'm interested to see what it's going to look like with Taylor and Moss back in the lineup. But regardless, I think these guys are especially going to shine in like one-on-one drills, pit it up against linebackers and everything. Those are kind of skewed for the offense to win anyways, but I'm just really picturing these guys being isolated against single defenders and just having their way,

Starting point is 00:10:33 especially in those receiving drills. Now, running backs, in terms of like the scrimmages and the 11-on-11 stuff, it's kind of hard for them to shine because it's not live action. They're not truly getting tackled and everything like that. That's why it's hard to evaluate offensive line, defensive line, things like that, because it's not real live football quite yet. But it's in the passing game with these two that I've really got an eye on them, and I think they're really going to stand out. The other guy I've got my eye on is Will Mallory. So we've seen these tight ends in the last few years have some big moments, receivers as well. You got, you know, your Deion Kane, Darius Fountain. Last year was again, Drew Ogletree before he unfortunately tore his ACL. So a guy who doesn't already have a big name on the map who I'm kind of looking for to have a big

Starting point is 00:11:26 performance is Will Mallory kind of that same thing so he can really stretch the field and so he's going to obviously be working mostly with Sam Ellinger and Anthony Richardson so all those guys like to push the ball downfield a bit, especially in practice. And so Mallory, I think, is going to be a big beneficiary of that. And he's got sure hands. He's athletic. He's kind of a mismatch type of guy. And so, again, in those one-on-one situations, just like the one-on-one drills, I think he'll look pretty good.

Starting point is 00:12:01 But we always kind of clock these guys who make catches in traffic, make catches downfield. And to me, I think Mallory has a real chance to be that guy who like stands out in that, in that way. Now, these are not the same type of tight ends, but something I'm kind of envisioning in my head is Hale Hint just from a few years ago, a rookie undrafted tight end out of Alabama. He was just like that. He caught everything in practice. He caught things in traffic.

Starting point is 00:12:31 He won pretty much every one-on-one drill. And I'm kind of picturing that same thing with Mallory. He's not near the blocker that Hentges was. But again, that's going to be kind of tough to evaluate unless they're absolutely terrible or absolutely dominant. And I don't see that in either direction with Mallory. But he's a guy I've got my eyes on. Again, you have your obvious guys, you know, Josh Downs, everyone is going to be looking at a receiver, Jelani Woods, Drew Ogletree to see if they're going to stand out,

Starting point is 00:13:01 but those are kind of obvious ones. So if you're looking for maybe some outliers, some dark horses, those are three offensive players I would look to do a little something in camp. So next up, flip side of the coin, we're looking at some defensive players that can really blow up. Again, no one who already is kind of a household name already to Colts fans, but someone who's kind of got the roadmap there to do a little something. So we'll talk about that here in a few. Okie dokie, guys.

Starting point is 00:13:35 Okay, so there's some newcomers to the Colts. You know, you're looking at Samson Abukam, not necessarily a newcomer, but Dayo Dengbo is someone who really could take that next step and just have like a really dominant camp. That makes a lot of sense. EJ Speed with a bigger role with Shaquille Leonard, his status up in the air. Someone I'm going to start, we'll go through each layer of the defense. Titus Leo, rookie defensive end for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:14:06 Kind of an undersized guy, 6'3", 243, but he's super athletic and he really dominated his level of competition at Wagner. So that is a guy who, especially, you know, working against the kind of the scraps and the third team offensive line, I could really see him being explosive and bendy around the edge. But also, once you get these padded practices where you have the one-on-one offensive versus defensive line drills, I think he's someone whose explosiveness could really shine through. I'm also looking to see if he can kind of convert speed to power, though, too. Because we've seen guys like

Starting point is 00:14:45 Ben Banigou for example rack up a bunch of sacks and tackles for loss during training camp won some one-on-one drills and things but it just didn't translate to the field kind of one-trick pony type of stuff I'm looking for Leo to kind of blend some power with that athleticism and explosiveness and I think if he can do that, then, you know, maybe he could show on the preseason as well. Maybe earn a roster spot that someone's Zach and I have talked about. We're kind of intrigued by it. So I really want to see what he's able to do in those drills.

Starting point is 00:15:18 Next guy, linebacker, Jojo Doman. So this guy really, I think has a big opportunity ahead of him. He already saw a lot of action last season. 264 special team snaps, finished tied for second on the team with six special team stops. So he is someone who, unfortunately, again this year, we don't know what Shaquille Leonard's status is. So that is going to kind of bump Zyre Franklin and EJ Speed up the ladder. But who's that next guy? Because Bobby Okereke is gone. He's with the Giants now.

Starting point is 00:15:52 So does JoJo Doman become that next linebacker to step up? And something particularly interesting about him, so when he was in college, he saw action at safety and linebacker. He's someone who you really don't have anyone in that linebacking core right now who you say, who stands out as someone who should be able to excel in pass coverage. Bobby Okereke was kind of your standout guy there last year. So if you're looking for that, Doman is probably your clear next answer because he fits that in the depth chart because he's probably that next guy to be in the lineup. But he's also not just a run stuffer. He's honestly kind of undersized for that. He's a perfect special teams type of player. So that could be someone who you see get a lot of action in past situations.

Starting point is 00:16:49 So that lends itself to past breakups, potential interceptions, running sideline to sideline. Those type of guys stick out in practices and definitely the preseason as well. So if Doman is given those type of opportunities, if Leonard is still out for a while, I could really see Doman getting a lot of opportunity to stand out. And he's a really talented player. He looked good last summer. He obviously earned a roster spot and played for the Colts throughout the year. So he's someone I've got an eye on. These next ones. So this is another tie at the end of it. So I really wanted

Starting point is 00:17:24 to say Rodney Thomas, but you know, he started 10 games last year. Everyone knows who he is. He's probably your top safety right now. So I'm going with a mix of Darius Rush and Nick Cross. So Rush is a rookie cornerback, you know, fifth rounder. And then Nick Cross is a second round or second year safety, taking in the third round last year. Cross did, you know, he started the season as the starter at strong safety, but just wasn't quite ready and got usurped by Rodney McLeod. And then Darius Rush had a great summer, spring football, up until he had a hamstring injury this offseason.

Starting point is 00:18:02 So these two guys are really looking to excel. So Cross actually did excel last summer. That's why he became the starter at Strong Safety entering the season. He had a good preseason. He kind of developed this knack to be able to break up passes in the Colts' own end zone, which is invaluable if you can keep the other team from scoring on you. So I'm looking for him to have another big summer. Will that translate this time to being able to see action on the field? We'll see, because your starting safeties right now are Rodney Thomas and Julian Blackman. So is he going to get a starting spot? I don't think so. I think it's the lineup ahead of him

Starting point is 00:18:44 is even more ironclad than it was last season when things were a little more open. Um, but that one's tough now, Darius rush. I think he does actually have the possibility to earn a starting spot because, you know, right now with the Isaiah Rogers senior situation, you've got to imagine a suspension is coming sometime soon uh so you've got kenny moore in the in the nickel julius brentz uh you know juju brentz he could you know if he's out there and healthy you know he hasn't been able to participate because that wrist uh but if he comes out and earns one of those other outside starting spots then that other one seems pretty open between Dallas Flowers and, you know, Darius Rush. You've got Kevin Tolliver, who could be in the mix, Tony Brown. But I mean,

Starting point is 00:19:33 Darius Rush, he's a rookie. You're kind of rebuilding right now. Anyways, if you have a rookie who's standing out, what's the purpose of having a veteran start over him? There really isn't one. So Rush, if he's able to build on that really impressive offseason he had, then I think he could stick out. Again, former wide receiver, still kind of young to the cornerback position, really athletic, lengthy guy, great ball skills, great coverage skills. He kind of stays in the receiver's hip pocket. As far, again, we'll just

Starting point is 00:20:05 kind of touch on cross again. So I think what he's going to have to do, he's going to have to show that in coverage, he's still got that ability to break up things behind him. But as a strong safety, he's going to have to prove that he's prepared to digest everything he's seeing in front of him. Because with those strong safeties in the box, you're kind of an extension of the linebacking core. Almost. You got to make sure you can keep things ahead of you. And so I think as long as he's not showing that things aren't too big for him,

Starting point is 00:20:37 which I think, you know, that everyone has kind of said the right things about him so far this off season, Ron Milas has said positive things. Gus Bradley hasley has said positive things and he was a young kid he's 21 now but he's super young player i think he was the youngest player in the draft last year so again he's got some growing to do but it's a big summer for him for sure because he's already been replaced in the lineup kind of twice,

Starting point is 00:21:06 at least one and a half times, you know, McLeod took a spot last year. And then Julian Blackman was moved to strong safety this year. So really big opportunity ahead for these guys all around. If you guys actually in YouTube, right after this, you go ahead and tell me who you think your star summer star players are going to

Starting point is 00:21:27 be. Again, it's not necessarily always going to translate to being a star in the regular season because a lot of the guys I mentioned beforehand who we've seen do it in the past didn't do anything in the regular season. So this is kind of a fun summer exercise. So whoever you guys think is going to really stand out and kind of open some fans' eyes, let me know what you think. And again, every dayers, positional previews, if you haven't already checked them out, definitely kind of digest that before training camp starts. Zach and I ran through everybody on the depth chart at the time that we were recording those. So that'll be a good preview. We're going to start diving into more AFC South stuff before camp kicks off here in less than a month officially. And then so yeah, definitely stay tuned to that.

Starting point is 00:22:14 If you guys don't already follow Locked on Colts at JakeArthurNFL and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also be sure to subscribe to Locked on Colts on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. We would also love your guys ratings and reviews And with that we will see you guys tomorrow

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Reveal Dates for Fans to Get First Look at Anthony Richardson

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