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INDIANAPOLIS – At 6-2 and 208 pounds, Clayton Geathers isn't often one of the smaller individuals in a given room.

When the Geathers' gather for family occasions though, Clayton is looking up to those in his family, who he now carries the same profession as.

When the Colts drafted Clayton last Saturday, he became the sixth member of his family to become a professional football player at the highest of levels.

The one difference between Clayton and the other five is while he will be back roaming the final line of defense in the NFL, the other five (Jumpy, Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Kwame and Clifton, who played for the Colts in 2012) spent their NFL lives in the trenches of the defensive line.

"I always say they must not have been passing me the food," Geathers said with a laugh when asked why he wasn't pushing 300 pounds like the rest of his NFL bloodline.

The youngest Geathers didn't miss many meals as a youngster though.

His stature was imposing at the collegiate level and that presence allowed Geathers to finish his career at Central Florida third on the school's all-time tackles list with 383 stops.

As Geathers overlooked the UCF secondary in 52 starts, he was often headed toward the opponent with a bit of ferocity.

"Clayton Geathers is one of the hardest hitters I've been around," Kirk Callahan, Geathers' position coach at UCF, said.

"He's a fast player, but he hits people at full speed. He doesn't blink. Physically, he's a big kid. He's strong. When he hits people, he brings his back leg through and he hits people at full speed. Those are just some of the great qualities that he has, in terms of what we look for (in a safety). He's obviously a great example of what we look for and what we want."

Backing up what his position coach says, Geathers refers to himself as a "tone setter" at 208 pounds.

As a rookie with the Colts, Geathers will be in the mix to find his way into the defensive lineup.

The Colts return Pro Bowl safety Mike Adams in 2015, with the other starting safety spot up for grabs.

After free agency had quieted down in early April, the Colts signed seven-year veteran Dwight Lowery to potentially line up next to Adams.

Geathers will certainly be a factor right away on the Colts special teams units. His style of play and background (played on all four special teams units at UCF) makes him an ideal candidate.

What Pagano sees in the rookie safety is potential, far from reaching its height.

"He's not even close to his ceiling. That's the great thing," Pagano said of Geathers.

"He's a big, strong, athletic guy. He's got high football IQ. He loves the game. I know the guys that coach him personally. Every one of the guys that I knew down there talked about this kid, stood on the table for him."