INDIANAPOLIS – A few minutes earlier on Tuesday, Chuck Pagano was throwing up a caution flag in trying not to deliver too much praise for guys this time of year.
Pagano didn't want complacency to set in with his players working in just helmets and shorts right now.
After a couple more questions at Pagano's Tuesday press conference, following OTA session No. 5, that flag being waived was bright green.
Asked about T.Y. Hilton being the "veteran presence" now in the Colts' wide receivers room, Pagano was off and running.
"T.Y. is having as good an offseason as anybody, probably better than anybody right now," Pagano stated.
"I've never seen this guy practice as fast as he's practicing right now and competing at the level he's competing at and leading the way that he's leading. He's done it day in and day out."
Hilton points to a disappointing 2015 ending to why Pagano has noticed even more playmaking out of his Pro Bowl receiver.
Statistically, 2015 wasn't really a drop for Hilton.
His 1,124 receiving yards included a career-low three drops in 125 targets.
Catching passes from five different quarterbacks last year was certainly a contributor to Hilton bringing in just 55.2 percent of the balls in his direction.
While the numbers were similar for Hilton in his fourth NFL season, there was one glaring piece missing on his resume.
No playoff football.
"It hurt because I had never been home after Week 17," Hilton said of missing out on the playoffs for the first time in his four NFL seasons.
"Watching the playoffs really hurt. So right now, I'm just doing what I can to get better and make sure that we are playing after Week 17."
The now vet of the wide receiver group, heading into his fifth NFL season, Hilton is making plays all over the practice field---crossing routes, deep balls, almost always going against the No. 1 defense.
He's clearly leading by example right now.
"I'm just putting forth the effort, helping the team," Hilton says.
"Last year didn't go as planned. Nothing I could do, but control what I could control. I'm just trying to get better, better my teammates and continue to work and push those guys."
