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INDIANAPOLIS – In an offseason that has seen an influx of young and talented corners added to the secondary, the Colts welcomed another new face to Indianapolis on Monday.
Cornerback Vontae Davis will wear No. 23 for the Colts, and his eyes repeatedly lit up when talking about playing for his new team.
"It's a great opportunity. I'm an Indianapolis Colt now," Davis said. "I've got some great teammates that have welcomed me with open arms. I look forward to the future."
Davis arrived in Indianapolis late Sunday evening and has gone through the usual introductions around the Colts locker room.
He did see a few familiar faces in the secondary, as safeties Antoine Bethea and Joe Lefeged are both, like Davis, from the Washington D.C. area. Cornerback Jerraud Powers was also in the 2009 draft class with Davis.
"There are great guys in this locker room," Davis said. "You've got (Dwight) Freeney, (Robert) Mathis and these guys welcomed me in. The first thing Mathis told me was, 'Let's get ready to work.'
That work will be sped up over the next two weeks as the Colts try and prepare their newest addition to start the opener against the Chicago Bears.
Pagano does not know if Davis will see any action in the preseason finale on Thursday but is grateful to have a player of his caliber in the secondary.
"Obviously, we've got a guy that's got a tremendous amount of ability, got a great skill set," Pagano said of Davis. "Great job on Ryan (Grigson)'s part. Really from the top down, getting a guy of Vontae's caliber in here to help this team moving forward. So we're extremely excited to have him."
It has been a busy offseason for Grigson and his staff as they have added a plethora of experienced talent in the defensive backfield.
The Colts have added a total of seven defensive backs this offseason and despite averaging just 24.5 years of age, the seven also average more than three years of NFL experience per player.
"I love all the moves that we've made," Pagano said. "We've added some tremendous people and some tremendous football players to the backend there. So that's only going to help us and help our defense."
Davis becomes the latest addition to that group, and his new head coach had high praise for the type of player the Colts acquired.
"(Davis) can play off (the receiver), he can play press-man (coverage), that's what he does and he does best. He can get his hands on people at the line of scrimmage," Pagano said.
"He's one of those guys that can be a shut down corner. So when you go and play different teams, you need to take a guy like Vontae and put him on their number one guy. If you chose to do that, he's got the ability to be able to go in and take a guy out of a game."
As soon as Davis was finished with the media on Monday, there was defensive backs coach Mike Gillhamer ready to catch up his newest pupil on the Colts' scheme.
With less than two weeks before the season opener in Chicago, Davis is committed to doing everything he can to feel comfortable on the field come week one.
"My biggest thing is just work and grind. Those who work hard should be rewarded," Davis said. "My biggest thing is working hard as an Indianapolis Colt and try to do the best I can as a player to help my team win."
The relationship between Davis and his new head coach started back in the spring of 2009 when as defensive backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens, Pagano evaluated the Illinois product.
For Pagano, the on-the-field abilities of Davis were easy to see. It is what struck him in an interview that proved to the coach that Davis had the tools to become a big-time player at the next level.
"He asked me about Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and I didn't solicit it at all. When he asked me about those two guys I knew, just looking in Vontae's eyes, he was very, very serious about being something special," Pagano said.
"He's serious about what type of legacy he wants to leave behind. He's serious about helping us win and win now. He's serious about being the very best that he can be as a football player."
PLAYER QUOTE OF THE DAY
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Cornerback Jerraud Powers on all the new faces in the Colts secondary:
"Definitely more experience than last year. Last year, if you looked at our group from top-to-bottom as a whole, you had me with three year's experience and then after that it was me and (Jacob) Lacey the only ones with experience. From there, it was everybody trying to prove themselves. If you look at us now, Vontae (Davis) has been a starter in Miami for the last four years. I've been a starter here. Justin King's been a starter in St. Louis. Brandon King has played a lot of ball here. We've got more guys that have played a lot of ball. Even though we are young, it's still a lot of guys with experience and a lot of guys that can play the game."
COACH PAGANO SAYS
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Head Coach Chuck Pagano on what the main objective for Thursday's game is:
"I think any game you want to come out clean (from injuries), and we've had our fair share so we'd love to get out of this one as healthy as possible. There's still some question marks out there, and there's still some guys out there fighting for jobs. Like I said before, (there are) a lot of those backend of the roster spots that guys are fighting for, and it's going to be determined on special teams. So there's going to be a lot of young guys, obviously, getting a lot of playing time in this last ballgame. Like I told them (Monday) morning, we're going to prepare to go win this football game, and we're going to play well and take the next step. There's nothing that we would like more than to play well and win the football game at home and start off the regular season on a good note."
TRIVIA QUIZ
Monday's Trivia Question: Of the 29 NFL teams that have played three preseason games in 2012, the Colts lead all of them in what offensive category.
CAMP SCHEDULE
The Colts held a brief morning walk-through on Monday before an afternoon practice.
WEATHER REPORT
It was a rainy morning in Indianapolis on Monday as showers forced the Colts practice indoors.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Monday's Trivia Question: Of the 29 NFL teams that have played three preseason games in 2012, the Colts lead all of them in what offensive category.
The Colts have five rushing touchdowns through three preseason games which leads all teams that have played three preseason games.
