TERRE HAUTE — It’s a pretty safe bet that at least one of the two former Ohio State receivers drafted by the Indianapolis Colts last spring will earn a spot on the team’s regular season roster.
After all, first-round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez is expected to fight for a starting role as the Colts’ slot receiver. Gonzalez, considered a near clone of former Indianapolis slot receiver Brandon Stokley, has been as good as advertised.
Rather, it’s been one of the team’s two fifth-round selections, Roy Hall, who has garnered quite a bit of interest during training camp. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound native of Lyndhurst, Ohio has been noticeable during training camp for his overall size and the speed (4.35 in 40) that goes with it.
What makes Hall’s story all the more remarkable is the fact that he caught just 13 passes and scored a pair of touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season. He had 52 total receptions and three touchdowns for his entire collegiate career.
But don’t be fooled by the statistics, or rather lack of them. Hall’s lack of playing time and meager numbers were due more to the fact that he played behind three future NFL first-round draft picks — Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes (2006), Miami’s Ted Ginn Jr. (2007) and Gonzalez (2007). Throw in junior-to-be Brian Robiskie for the Buckeyes (who may end up as yet another first-round selection in the very near future) and it makes for quite a crowd at the wide receiver position.
That group of talented players also makes it a little easier for someone with the ability of Hall to perhaps fall through a cracks a little bit. It would be easy to get lost in that group. And, unfortunately, Hall was often the odd-man out when it came to picking up significant playing time.
Knowing those facts, though, should help explain why Hall is taking his chance with the Colts so seriously. He’s got a point to prove. After his performance during spring workouts and during the first week of training camp, he has certainly made a positive statement.
One thing appears to be certain. Hall is probably going to end up seeing playing time at a number of positions, such as outside receiver, slot receiver, or maybe some work as a tight end or H-back on occasion. He’s also going to spend a lot of work on the special teams unit.
“We’re really finding out things that Roy can do. I have a feeling he’s going to be an excellent special teams player. We’ve got him doing things on the coverage units as a gunner and a kickoff coverage guy. We are looking at him in the slot,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said earlier this week.
“He might be a [former Colts tight end] Marcus Pollard-type of guy. I don’t know what Marcus looked like when he first got here, but he was probably very similar. We are working him basically on the outside on Reggie [Wayne’s] side. We are still find out exactly what he’s going to be able to do.”
It’s those skills to be so versatile on the football field that should help Hall’s chances of making the team. The more that you can do, especially on special teams, is always a good thing. But it does take time to learn all the positions and to know where he’s supposed to be in any given situation.
“You have a couple mental lapses every once in while. But you’ve just got to try hard to stay focused, man, and try to do your job as best you can,” Hall said Friday. “In college, you were used to be on film all the time. But now it’s like every detail gets looked over. You’ve got to stay focused.”
Such close scrutiny is keeping Hall on his toes. One bad day at practice at any of the several positions in which he is getting work can come back to haunt you later.
“I think that’s the difficult part,” he said, reflecting on his multiple roles with the Colts. “It has its pros and cons because you’ve got to learn so many different spots. The offense, in general, you have to know everything. But it’s one thing to see it on paper and then another to go out and do it. I’m just trying to stay focused and have fun with it.
“[It’s been] pretty tough [learning the Indianapolis offense]. You’ve got to learn the plays. Then you’ve got to learn the code words. And then you got [quarterback] Peyton [Manning] out there doing hand signals to who knows who. So you’ve got to get used to those also. You’ve got to learn three different parts and then you’ve got to run block also. It’s kind of difficult, but I’m maintaining and progressing a little bit.”
• Scrimmage today — Indianapolis will wrap up its first week of training camp this morning with a controlled scrimmage this morning at Cook Stadium. The Colts will take the field around 8:30 a.m., with the scrimmage slated to get underway at approximately 9 a.m.
“What we want to do is just work more situations, especially our young guys. Get them in situations where they’ve got to think. The coaches aren’t out there. They can’t tell them or remind them of the down or distance. Remind them of their assignments, little details. Who can really react fast in more of a game-type situation,” Dungy explained.
“So after a week of practice, you want to put them in something that’s going to simulate what they’re going to see on Thursday night (in the team’s preseason opener at Dallas).”
The format for the scrimmage will be much like what the team did a year ago.
“We are going to do kind of like we did last year. Everybody liked that. I think the veteran guys are afraid of my group, so we aren’t going to play the young guys against the vets. We’re going to play offense against defense and have a point system where the offense obviously gets points when they score,” he said.
“But they [also] get points for plays over 20 yards. And then the defense gets points for forcing a three-and-out or a takeaway or a punt. So it was pretty competitive last year and I think we’ll go that same route again.”
• Injury list — Injuries have taken a toll on a few of the Colts, with defensive end Dwight Freeney leaving practice Friday morning with his left shoulder wrapped up. The injury was not considered to be serious. Freeney did not practice Friday afternoon.
“He got it bumped [Friday], but I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Dungy said.
Rookie offensive tackle Gabe Hall suffered a sprained knee in a recent workout and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. First-year receiver Devin Aromashodu, meanwhile, incurred a hamstring pull during a passing drill Wednesday night and may also be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Tight end Mike Seidman has undergone an MRI on his knee.
“He [Seidman] had a problem with his knee the first day, the first contact day we had. [Team doctors] are looking at that and he’s getting that checked,” the Colts coach said.
As many as 15 players sat out Friday’s second practice session, but most of that group are on a one-practice-a-day regimen.
• Big crowd Friday morning — The largest crowd of the week was on hand for the Friday morning practice as 1,997 fans watched the Colts work in the hot weather.
Temperatures Friday morning were 83 degrees with a heat index of 85 degrees. By the time Friday’s second practice was done around 5:30 p.m., the hat had risen to the mid-90s.
• Berman hurt for Redskins — Former Indiana State wide receiver Carl Berman, who is attempting to make the Washington Redskins’ roster as an undrafted free agent, suffered a strained hamstring Wednesday night.
Berman is considered day-to-day by Redskins’ officials. He has been seeing practice time both as a receiver and as a potential kick/punt returner.
• Weatherford holding his own — Reports from the New Orleans Saints’ training camp indicate that former Terre Haute North and ex-University of Illinois punter Steve Weatherford is in a battle with recently acquired punter Chris Hanson will probably go down to the final cut.
Weatherford, though, has kicked slightly better than Hanson, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, according to media covering the Saints’ camp.
• Petrowski in Titans camp — Another former Indiana State player, tight end Jamie Petrowski, is currently in the Tennessee Titans training camp.
Petrowski was signed by Tennessee as an undrafted free agent last year and spent this past spring in NFL Europa. Efforts to get an update on his progress during this year’s training camp were not successful.
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