Colts Training Camp Journal, Day 1: Anthony Richardson Makes Debut
The Indianapolis Colts officially kicked off their 2023 training camp on Wednesday, and the fans couldn't have been more excited.
By the time I arrived at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind. over an hour prior to practice, there was already a significant line of fans waiting for the gates to open to get into Colts City.
It's no surprise at the jubilation given the arrival of the first practice orchestrated by new head coach Shane Steichen featuring rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
The team practiced for just an hour on Day 1, a move Steichen explained as part of their "ramp up" period. As such, the team also was just in shorts, shells, and jerseys. Here were my observations from the sidelines.
TEAM
— While running back Jonathan Taylor (ankle), defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis (knee), and tight end Will Mallory (foot) remained out on the Active/PUP list, starting strong safety Julian Blackmon (hamstring) and rookie cornerback JuJu Brents (hamstring) both missed the day with new injuries.
— Players who missed much or all of the offseason program, OTAs, and/or minicamps but returned on Wednesday were linebacker Shaquille Leonard, wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, tight ends Jelani Woods and Drew Ogletree, running back Zack Moss, and cornerback Darius Rush.
— The 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills focused on the red zone and the run game. Steichen said this was another example of not wanting to overwork and overrun players on the first day.
OFFENSE
— The primary theoretical first-unit offensive players were as follows: Gardner Minshew (QB), Zack Moss (RB), Michael Pittman Jr. (WR), Alec Pierce (WR), Jelani Woods (TE), Mo Alie-Cox (TE), Bernhard Raimann (LT), Quenton Nelson (LG), Ryan Kelly (C), Will Fries (RG), and Braden Smith (RT). Josh Downs (WR), Isaiah McKenzie (WR), Ashton Dulin (WR), and Kylen Granson (TE) all got several reps as well.
— The second-unit line was made up of Jake Witt (LT), Arlington Hambright (LG), Danny Pinter (C), Wesley French (RG), and Blake Freeland (RT). The third group was Matthew Vanderslice (LT), Carter O'Donnell (LG), Dakoda Shepley (C), Emil Ekiyor (RG), and Jordan Murray (RT).
— The quarterbacks had an efficient day with limited passing reps. Minshew received all of the theoretical first-team reps and went 4-of-4 passing with completions to Moss, Pierce, Granson, and McKenzie. His completion to Granson was a short touchdown along the left side.
— Richardson was also spotless statistically, completing 2-of-2 passes to Evan Hull and Ethan Fernea. He found Fernea in the end zone for a score. Richardson also had a likely would-be touchdown run on an option play. During 7-on-7s, the defense exercised solid coverage as Richardson rolled out to his right to find an open man and delivered a strike to Vyncint Smith, who was sliding in the back of the end zone. Richardson and Smith have connected on a number of big plays since the spring, so that connection could be one to monitor.
— Not to be outdone, Sam Ehlinger also had a short touchdown pass to receiver Kody Case.
— Steichen said that we will begin to see a rotation of first-team reps between the quarterbacks (Minshew and Richardson) as camp progresses.
DEFENSE
— The primary theoretical first-unit defensive players were as follows: Samson Ebukam (DE), DeForest Buckner (DT), Grover Stewart (DT), Kwity Paye (DE), Shaquille Leonard (LB), Zaire Franklin (LB), E.J. Speed (LB), Kenny Moore II (NCB), Dallis Flowers (CB), Darrell Baker Jr. (CB), Rodney Thomas II (FS), and Nick Cross (SS).
— Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley does an exceptional amount of rotating of players early in camp, so there's not a lot of value in reporting second and third units for the first few days at least.
— Leonard made his return to the field after being out since November with a second surgery on his back. He didn't only participate in positional drills, though, as he was out there for most of the 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 work as well. Both he and the team are taking a slow approach to him being a full-go but it's encouraging that he's already participating in practice to this degree.
— Moore had a nice pass breakup of Minshew in the back of the end zone when matched up against Pittman as both players went to the ground. This is an important summer for Moore as he works on his comfort level with the Colts defense and organization as a whole following last year's slump.
— Buckner broke through the middle of the line for a would-be sack on Minshew. Defensive end Khalid Kareem also had a would-be sack against Richardson.
SPECIAL TEAMS
— A brief special teams drill focused on the kickoff return game, which saw Flowers, McKenzie, Downs, Case, and Jake Funk returning kicks.
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