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Colts Work Out Alabama Safety Nick Perry

By Luke Schultheis

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According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, the Indianapolis Colts worked out a University of Alabama safety recently, only it wasn’t projected 1st round pick Landon Collins. Instead, this Crimson Tide safety was the starting safety alongside him in Nick Perry:

Jan 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Nick Perry (27) against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half in the 2015 Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The 6’1, 211 pound Perry recorded 79 tackles and 2 interceptions last season for Alabama as a 5th-year red-shirt safety. He had the 4th most tackles on a defense that ranked 6th-nationally in scoring defense, where he played as a safety, nickelback, and hybrid linebacker.

Perry was red-shirted in 2013 because of a season-ending shoulder injury after playing in two games, but showed no lingering effects of the injury last season. Rather, Perry played quite well for the Crimson Tide this past year, and is coming off an impressive Alabama Pro Day showing in which he ran a 4.58 forty-yard dash time and boasted a vertical jump of 33 inches.

There were some questions about Perry’s speed and man-to-man coverage ability, but the former appears to have been answered by an adequate forty-time.

According to Matt Zenitz of Al.com, Nick Perry has been emphasizing that he’s been a highly productive player on some winning Alabama Crimson Tide teams:

"“You’re getting an intelligent player on and off the field,” Perry said. “You’re getting a guy from a great, winning program. I know how to win. A lot of these players know how to play football, but they don’t know how to play winning football. They don’t know what it takes, what you have to do, the price you have to pay. … I have great football instincts. I was fourth on the team in tackles, which I think that speaks for itself.“And I’m a guy that’s played at the SEC level for multiple years and have competed against great players. I’ve competed against guys like Odell Beckham, Zach Mettenberger and Todd Gurley and guys like that, so I faced NFL talent every week.”"

Of course, the Colts could use a long-term answer at either starting safety position, where veteran Mike Adams just turned 34 years old and recently signed Dwight Lowery is nothing more than a stopgap solution.

Perry looks like he may not be a standout in coverage, but he has shown a knack for the football and racking up tackles. He could help to boost the team’s run defense in time and become a special teams contributor right away. He’s currently projected to be a late 6-7th round pick, but that could certainly change as the draft approaches.

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