Horseshoe Huddle

Colts Training Camp Journal, Day 6: Drew Ogletree Emerges, Defense Locks Up

On Day 6 of Colts training camp, a new tight end is making his presence felt, Nyheim Hines makes a big play, and the defense swarms late.

Jake Arthur

In this story:

The Indianapolis Colts returned to practice on Thursday and threw the pads back on for their final live session of the week before getting back to the field this Sunday.

The rainy weather cleared up in time for the team to fit their extended practice in at the outdoor fields of Grand Park Sports Campus. With the Colts donning full pads again, it gave us another physical practice and a good look at 1-on-1 drills.

I roamed the sidelines once again for the duration of practice and now give you the contents of my daily journal.

TEAM

— The following players missed Thursday's practice: defensive tackle Byron Cowart, wide receiver DeMichael Harris, offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, linebacker Brandon King, running back D’Vonte Price, linebacker Forrest Rhyne, safety Armani Watts, and defensive tackle Chris Williams.

— Particularly in the first half of practice, players seemed to struggle with their footing and securing the ball, which was likely caused by the field being wet from the leftover rain.

— During drills pitting wide receivers/tight ends against cornerbacks/safeties, here were the outcomes: Michael Pittman Jr. def. Stephon Gilmore; Rodney McLeod def. Jelani Woods (Woods trucked him but no flag was thrown); Anthony Chesley def. Parris Campbell; Alec Pierce def. Kenny Moore II; Ethan Fernea def. Tony Brown; Julian Blackmon def. Michael Jacobson; Alex Myres def. Keke Coutee; Brandon Facyson def. Dezmon Patmon; Ashton Dulin def. Dallis Flowers; Nick Cross def. Mo Alie-Cox; Michael Young Jr. def. Chesley; Isaiah Ford def. Marvell Tell III; D.J. Montgomery def. Chris Wilcox; Rodney Thomas II def. Kylen Granson; Moore def. Campbell; Isaiah Rodgers def. Samson Nacua; Gilmore def. Pittman; Marcel Dabo def. Drew Ogletree; Rodgers def. Coutee; Pierce def. Chesley; Brown def. Fernea; Nikola Kalinic def. Trevor Denbow; Young def. Myres

— During drills pitting offensive and defensive linemen against each other, here were the outcomes: Kwity Paye def. Braden Smith; Danny Pinter def. R.J. McIntosh; Grover Stewart def. Wesley French; DeForest Buckner def. Quenton Nelson; Yannick Ngakoue def. Matt Pryor; Paye def. Smith; McIntosh def. Pinter; French def. Stewart; Nelson def. Buckner; Pryor def. Ngakoue; Dayo Odeyingbo def. Jordan Murray; Jason Spriggs def. Eric Johnson II; Will Fries def. Caeveon Patton; Curtis Brooks def. Fries; Ben Banogu def. Bernhard Raimann; Odeyingbo def. Murray; Johnson def. Spriggs; Fries def. Patton; Brooks def. Fries; Banogu def. Raimann; Ryan Van Demark def. Kameron Cline; Josh Seltzner def. Odeyingbo; Stewart def. Pinter; Murray def. Ifeadi Odenigbo; Van Demark def. Cline; Odeyingbo def. Seltzner; Stewart def. Fries; Patton def. Brandon Kemp; Raimann def. Odenigbo; Smith def. Banogu; Pinter def. Buckner; Buckner def. Pinter

— Much of what the team worked on during 11-on-11s was deep and short red zone situations, read options, and the hurry-up offense.

OFFENSE

— Quarterback Matt Ryan was 11-of-14 passing during 11-on-11s, including completing his first seven throws to six different receivers. He had 1 touchdown, which was a high ball in the back of the end zone to Alie-Cox, and completions to Pittman (3), Alie-Cox (2), Ogletree (2), Nyheim Hines (2), Granson, and Jonathan Taylor. 

— One of Ryan's best plays of the day was the first rep of 7-on-7s, where he found Hines on a 25-yard go route down the left sideline, as the running back outraced Cross down the field. Just a couple of plays later, Ryan targeted Hines again along the left side in the end zone, and Hines broke up a would-be interception by Gilmore.

— Ryan also found Pierce wide open on the right side of the end zone from 15 yards out during 7-on-7s.

— Ogletree, a rookie Day 3 draft pick, has been visible throughout camp and has been in the mix with the first and second units throughout 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Thursday was his coming-out party. He caught three straight balls during 7-on-7s, one from Ryan and two from Nick Foles. The first catch was from about 15 yards out as Ryan found Ogletree in traffic in the middle of the end zone and Ogletree stuck his right hand up and pulled the ball in for a score. It was reminiscent of Alie-Cox against the Raiders in 2018. You can tell by how often and in which situations a quarterback looks for a receiver whether or not their emergence is legit, and Ogletree's truly seems to be a thing.

— Starting center Ryan Kelly briefly limped off the field to have his leg looked at but would later return after a series. While he was out, Pinter moved over to center from right guard, and Spriggs moved into Pinter's vacant right guard spot. Spriggs has been playing as the second unit's right guard throughout camp.

— Dulin had a big day on Wednesday and followed it up with another solid outing on Thursday. He was a weapon for the second unit down near the goal line, running it in for a score on an end-around and catching a low pass in the front of the end zone from Foles a few plays later.

— Running back Phillip Lindsay continued to make convincing runs, on Thursday showing off some shiftiness up the middle for what appeared to have been a legitimate big gain.

— Quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Fernea digging across the left side of the field for a 20-yard gain. Fernea nearly took it to the end zone but was brought down by a shoestring tackle.

DEFENSE

— Early in 11-on-11s. Paye recovered a fumbled handoff between Ryan and Taylor. Paye also had a sack later during the two-minute drill.

— Other sacks on the day went to Buckner, Odenigbo (second day in a row), and linebacker Jojo Domann. For Buckner it was just one blip of an overall very disruptive day where he made things difficult for the first-team line.

— There were a handful of impressive pass breakups in live drills, including Tell against Dulin, Blackmon against Campbell, and Gilmore against both Pittman and Pierce.

— Iron sharpens iron so it should come as no surprise that Gilmore is likely giving Pierce the biggest challenge of his football life this summer. Throughout camp, Gilmore has made absolutely nothing easy for Pierce, and it's a tall task just for the rookie to make a catch on him in 1-on-1s. Gilmore gave Pierce a rough shot as he dug inside on a route and attempted to make a catch near the end of practice.

— Moore had a nice run stop behind the line of scrimmage against running back Ty'Son Williams.

— It was another impressive showing for Odeyingbo, both in live drills and 1-on-1s. On one play, he made a run stop for no gain against running back C.J. Verdell where he shed his blocker and collapsed down on the runner.

SPECIAL TEAMS

— The day ended during the hurry-up offense sessions, with both placekickers Rodrigo Blankenship and Jake Verity each nailing their field goal attempts from 49 yards out.

— Thursday's kickoff returners were Rodgers, Coutee, Hines, and Dulin.

— Thursday's punt returners were Hines, Coutee, and Rodgers.

What did you think of Day 5's action? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

Follow Jake on Twitter and Facebook @JakeArthurNFL. Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Facebook and Twitter.

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Jake Arthur
JAKE ARTHUR

Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for a decade. He is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) and FantasyPros' expert panel. He has also contributed to multiple NFL Draft guides.

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