The Andrew Luck era has officially begun in Indianapolis, as Luck arrived for the first day of rookie mini camps. With the weight of the world on his shoulders as he took snaps for the first time in the House that Manning built, the first review’s couldn’t be better.
“He’s unflappable,” new head coach Chuck Pagano said. “He’s a natural leader.”
He has already emerged as a leader on the field, although the veterans haven’t arrived yet. Third round draft choice receiver T.Y. Hilton admitted to being nervous in his first day in the NFL, but indicated that Luck “settled me down.”
Luck did have the advantage of one very familiar face in the huddle with him, as the Colts took his favorite target from Stanford, tight end Coby Fleener, in the second round. Fleener was considered a potential late first round draft pick, and the Colts were lucky that he fell to them in the top of the second round.
Reuniting the tandem provides an immediate foundation of chemistry to a Colts roster that has had a lot of turnover since last year. Fleener knows what to expect, but still had high words of praise for Luck.
“He’s the same Andrew,” Fleener said. “He’s as brilliant as ever.” Fleener indicated that Luck seemed to be quickly absorbing the playbook and was already calling plays “with like 30 words in them.”
It’s still very early, but it is a great start for Luck, as he is starting to show the traits he is going to need to be successful this year – speed in absorbing the offense, leadership and an ability to ignore the circus that is going to be surrounding him.
