Colts Training Camp 2013: Army Officer Josh McNary Set to Join Colts Tuesday

Just when you thought the rush linebacker position couldn’t get anymore intriguing for the Indianapolis Colts, GM Ryan Grigson decided to remind everyone of a move he made back in early April.

Grigson announced at the team’s opening day of training camp that Army Officer Josh McNary would hopefully be joining the team for training camp on Tuesday. McNary impressed the Colts and a handful of other teams at a regional scouting combine in Texas, and passed on the other opportunities presented him to join the Colts, who made a compelling pitch.

“I did have other opportunities, but the Colts were just unique in their enthusiasm to get me on board,” McNary said. “I got a call from the general manger (Ryan Grigson), who basically said sign with the organization, and that was huge. I got a call from Coach (Chuck) Pagano. It was just an overwhelming amount of attention that they showed toward me, it definitely wasn’t matched by any other teams and these guys saw things in me that I thought I only knew I had. It sounds like they’re going to put me in a place where they can optimize my potential, kind of like they did in college. So I thought it was a pretty good choice.”

McNary, in addition to helping in defend our country is an outstanding, albeit undersized football player. At 6’0″ 251 pounds, he racked up 46 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, and a fumble returned for a touchdown as a senior at Army in 2010.

Over the course of the last two years, McNary has been fulfilling his military obligations, but has decided he wants to give his dream of playing in the NFL a shot. He holds Army career records with 28 sacks and 49 tackles for loss, and despite being a 25-year old rookie, he is joining a very open, very interesting group of players at the DE/OLB position.

The Colts used their first round selection on Bjoern Werner, and already have an established star in Robert Mathis coming off the edge. They also signed Justin Hickman in 2012, a former CFL defensive player of the year, as well as AFL star Caesar Rayford. Then, the Colts went out and picked up a rugby player named Daniel Adongo, a 6’5″ 257 pound freak of an athlete who is very new to the game of football. During free agency, the team also spent a good amount of money on Erik Walden, a former Green Bay Packers player who may be the opening day starter opposite Mathis.

With this kind of competition and a guy like McNary joining the fray, you can’t help but be excited about the things Ryan Grigson is trying to do to improve the team. Right now, McNary’s roster listing says he will wear #48 with the Colts.