He missed a good amount of OTAs. He’s been busy studying for final exams at Stanford University in order to graduate with a degree in architecture. He’s had no contact with coaches and has been practicing by guessing on formations from his playbook.
But Andrew Luck appeared far from rusty on his first day of Colts minicamp this week.
The mandatory, three-day camp – which included an open house and public scrimmage on Wednesday – showcased Luck’s immense raw talent to thousands of local fans. Most came away impressed with what they saw. The over all impression? Luck is the real deal.
This week #HorseBytes brings to you the reactions from the first work of the 2012 Colts as a team in whole:
The Colts opened Wednesday’s minicamp practice to the public, offering an open house and select-a-seat event in an effort to generate excitement about the upcoming season and sell off their remaining season tickets. Almost 8,000 attended the free event, which also offered free parking (wow!) and half-price concessions, along with the opportunity for fans to walk the field before the practice and meet the players for autographs at the event’s conclusion. The players clearly appreciated the overwhelming support from the community.
But fans wouldn’t have had this unique opportunity if it weren’t for the 3,000 remaining season tickets in the team’s possession. After the team cut Peyton Manning, many upset fans did not renew their tickets for the upcoming season. The team will need to sell these tickets to avoid blackouts of the team’s televised games. A good variety of tickets available at all prices and on all levels of the stadium were on display at the open house. Anyone in attendance who liked what they saw could literally sit down and claim their spot for the entire season.
So what can we take away from the Colts’ minicamp? It’s hard to make any concrete judgments since most of the practices were either walk throughs or drills. But the overwhelming consensus following the conclusion of camp is that Andrew Luck is hardly rookie-like. The former Stanford QB was calling plays at the line of scrimmage, reading defensive schemes, and throwing footballs in the chests of his receivers like they already had years of established chemistry. Dan Hanzus of the NFL had good things to say, detailing the positives of Luck’s accuracy. Albert Breer had a great take on the value of the rookie’s intangibles – his leadership and knowledge. Paul Kuharsky, who covers the AFC South, shared his ten observations from the public practice in his blog. Not one of these writers has anything negative to say about Luck – and these guys aren’t Colts PR staff, either.
As Andrew Luck says, he’s still learning, and from the looks of it, he may have an unlimited capacity for knowledge. Those non-renewing former season ticket holders may have to be put on a waiting list next season, because they’re definitely going to want back in when they see what their new QB – and his surrounding cast – can accomplish in the games ahead.
The Colts will now have 6 weeks off before the real work – training camp – begins in July. But don’t worry – #HorseBytes will be back next Friday with more Colts updates for you!