INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts today officially kicked off Training Camp 2017 with a high-energy practice in front of the fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.
So what were the major themes of the day? What did we learn? Let's take an all-encompassing look at the Day 1 action.
Hooker's back
Malik Hooker, the Colts' first-round (15th-overall pick), wasn't able to participate in any of the Colts' on-field offseason workouts due to offseason surgery to his hip and hernia, while the safety was originally placed on the PUP list prior to the start of camp after tweaking his hamstring last week.
But on Sunday, Hooker was taken off the PUP list and made his professional debut on the field — though No. 29 primarily worked in with the second team.
Hooker certainly is expected to crack the starting lineup at some point, but he still likely has a lot of reps to go before the team would be comfortable with him in that kind of role, so with the other expected starting safety, Clayton Geathers, expected to miss at least six weeks of the regular season after offseason surgery, Darius Butler, Matthias Farley and T.J. Green will continue to get starters' reps in practice.Tolzien in at QB
Sunday saw an up-and-down day for Scott Tolzien, who is filling in as the team's No. 1 quarterback while Andrew Luck continues to rehab his surgically-repaired throwing shoulder.
Here's what head coach Chuck Pagano had to say about Tolzien's day:
"Yeah, I mean it's never going to be perfect. You want to come out here and you want to get better every day. Scott has grown. Scott has done a nice job since he's been here. Again, he made some plays and there were some not-so-good plays. We'll go back and look at the film from this afternoon."
Guard swap?
One of the more intriguing observations on Sunday was along the offensive line, where Jack Mewhort — who has normally been the team's starting left guard — was working in at right guard; second-year lineman Joe Haeg, meanwhile, had flipped over from right guard to left guard.
So, looking left from right, the No. 1 offensive line is Anthony Castonzo (left tackle), Haeg (left guard), Ryan Kelly (center), Mewhort (right guard) and Le'Raven Clark (right guard).
Is this significant? Yes and no. Yes, because this certainly goes against the norm, and even Pagano acknowledged after practice that they're mixing it up with these five starters to find the right fit. But no, because a huge emphasis for offensive line coach Joe Philbin is to have players who can seamlessly transition from one position on the line to another, especially his guards and tackles.
So this will definitely be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
'We looked really good today'
Jabaal Sheard was one of several pieces brought in this offseason who is expected to make a major impact on the defense.
He was asked on Sunday how long he thinks it will take for the rebuilt unit to gel:
"That's the point of preseason and you grow throughout the year. They say football doesn't really start until November – that's when you have to be at your best. We looked really good today. I think we just have to continue building and getting better. Obviously, there are always new pieces and guys get injured. You never know what can happen, so you've got to deal with what you got."
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