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INDIANAPOLIS –On the Colts opening kickoff return against Cincinnati last season, the eyes fixated towards the Colts blockers were abnormal.
Why were so many people glued towards a 270-pound outside linebacker, who probably wasn't going to touch the ball, to kickoff a game between a pair of playoff teams?
Consider four months earlier, that man (Daniel Adongo) had put on football pads for the first time in his 23-year old life and you begin to understand.
Through relentless work ethic (on and off the field) and oozing athletic potential, Adongo made his NFL debut in Week 14 of the 2013 regular season.
"It was phenomenal," Adongo said of his first season of football, at any level.
"(It was) a great opportunity, leaves you wanting more, hungry for success, coming back better and using this offseason as a time to grow and work on individual, little details that the team needs to have next year to come back and win the championship."
Adongo played 31 special teams snaps during the 2013 season before a hamstring injury sidelined him for the final four games.
From his arrival at training camp in Anderson, Adongo hadn't even been in the United States for a week before he experienced an NFL training camp.
Thanks to teammates and coaches open to helping Adongo mold and channel his raw talent, the former rugby star was ready to experience a full NFL offseason.
"I planned my offseason as soon as we lost the (Patriots) game," Adongo said.
"I know as every great warrior, you need to put in work for the next battle, so the next battle is what's coming, the next season. I do have a plan in mind and I do plan to follow it to a 'T' and execute that."
The next step for Adongo will be making an appearance in the Colts defense.
His sample size of professional football wasn't substantial in 2013 but being a part of the "Colts Monster" left Adongo wanting to continue a journey not paved by anyone in NFL history.
"It's an exhilarating sport as soon as you put on your pads and you're walking down that tunnel, the hairs on the back of your neck stands up," Adongo said.
"I want to reiterate that leaves you wanting more and being more determined to succeed. It's crazy. It's a burning desire at this moment in time."
When Adongo walked into the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center late last July, he carried 233 pounds on his 6-4 frame.
Now, weighing 270 pounds, Adongo has developed some skill sets needed to compete on an NFL field.
"I talk to the coaches constantly about certain things (Adongo) does to where it looks like a real guy," Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson said at the end of the 2013 season. "Maybe it's a spin move, or the way he disengages a block and then chases. His intangibles are off the charts. So it's a pretty good recipe to be a player in this league and I think he's got a real chance."
"The aggression that he plays with, I can gush all day about him because his tempo through 17 weeks is just every day he drives those offensive linemen crazy. It makes us better, and he in turn is getting better. So he's been great. You wish all of them were as dialed in as him every single day. Time's just what he needs."
