ANDERSON, Ind. —
When Paul and Angela Reuter of Greenwood started out on the road Sunday morning, Paul had no idea they’d end up in Anderson at the Colts training camp until they were in the parking lot.
It was a surprise from Angela for their 23rd anniversary, and it’s their first time at camp.
They, like many others Sunday afternoon and evening, came to check out the Colts’ new roster and see them in action before the season starts.
“It’s a chance to get to see some new faces and try recognizing them when they start playing,” Angela said. “It was fun. A good day. The weather was nice and the campus is pretty.”
It was bright, blue skies and a high in the upper 80s for the Colts’ first full day of training at Anderson University.
The couple arrived in Anderson as camp was just opening to the public and waited in line for about an hour. They’re big Colts fans and Paul has some football legacy of his own, having been the quarterback for a state championship Greenfield Central team in his time.
He’s a guidance counselor now and with school starting today for him, said Sunday may have been their only chance to come.
The couple was excited to see new Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in action.
“I think he’ll have a great career,” Paul said. “He’s got a great head on his shoulders.”
And while he’s sad to see former QB Peyton Manning go, he said he felt it was the right decision and that Luck will be just as good. The Colts couldn’t pass someone like Luck up, he added.
Angela said they’ll still be keeping an eye on Manning with the Denver Broncos because “he’ll always be a Colt.”
The Reuters weren’t just interested in Luck, though, they wanted to catch a glimpse of the whole team working together.
“I think they’re going to be better than what people give them credit for,” Paul said.
He said he doesn’t believe they’ll win the Super Bowl, but win more games than they did last year.
Vince Braun, 48, of Westfield, came with his wife and daughter. He’s been out to Colt camps before in both Anderson and Terre Haute.
“We enjoyed watching practice,” he said. “There’s a lot of new names to learn about. I think they’re going to be a good team.”
He said it was especially fun to watch wide receiver Reggie Wayne and that he’s excited about running back Donald Brown and the Colts defense.
Braun added he hopes Manning does well in Denver, but doesn’t think he’ll be winning the Super Bowl again. Luck, he said, has a strong arm and is a “big kid like (the Broncos’ Tim) Tebow, but with more ability.”
“He’s Peyton with legs,” he said. “He’s exciting to watch.”
With the Colts not being in the strongest division, Braun said, he expects the team to win more than last year and do better than expected.
He’s a big Colts fan that’s stuck with them through thick and thin and added that they just better beat the Bears because he has a brother who loves the team and doesn’t want to hear him go on.
Lakisha Goins, 31, works in Anderson and has been a Colts fan since high school. It was her first time out at camp and she said she came because she had the day off and wanted to bring her kids, who loved the Colts City activities, especially the bounce house.
Watching them have fun was the best part of her day, she said, but she enjoyed the chance to see the players get acclimated with one another and start building some chemistry.
“It was neat seeing the Colts up close, watching them do their thing,” she said.
Goins expects to see a big difference in next year’s team.
Find Dani Palmer on Facebook and @DaniPalmer_THB on Twitter, or call 640-4847.
Colts
Related Photos
-
Andrew Luck signs autographs after the Colts practice at Anderson University on Sunday. Don Knight
Discussion
Colts fans excited to see team in action
- Colts
-
-
Colts Notebook: Luck enjoys first taste of OTAs
Last year at this time, Andrew Luck was in class at Stanford finishing up his degree in architecture design. So he missed the 10 voluntary practices marked as “organized team activities” that allow the offense to go against the defense in shorts and helmets for often energetic scrimmages.
On Wednesday at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, Luck reflected on his first three days of OTAs and said the experience is another that will help him improve for his second season as the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback. -
Chargers, Freeney agree to 2-year deal
The San Diego Chargers agreed Saturday to a two-year deal with aging star pass rusher Dwight Freeney that could be worth $13.35 million.
The deal to bring Freeney to the Chargers came four days after outside linebacker Melvin Ingram tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a padless practice. -
Holmes carrying on family tradition
Khaled Holmes will have to work hard just to become the most notable football player at his extended family’s Thanksgiving dinner table.
-
Colts Notebook: Cunningham’s catch completes camp
Justice Cunningham enjoyed a solid three-day rookie mini-camp with the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. So perhaps it’s fitting the reigning “Mr. Irrelevant,” as the final player selected in last month’s NFL draft, got the last word on Sunday.
-
Kelley's road leads to Indy
Jeremy Kelley stayed behind after Friday’s rookie mini-camp practice, catching pass after pass from the automated JUGS machine.
-
Colts Notebook: Hamilton slowly rolling offense out
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Indianapolis Colts’ 2013 season is the exact nature offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s new scheme.
-
So far, so good for top pick Werner
It’s the height of folly to make definitive judgments on football players wearing shorts and helmets in non-contact drills.
But there is plenty to be learned from this weekend’s three-day rookie mini-camp, and first-round pick Bjoern Werner made a favorable impression during his first practice with the Indianapolis Colts. -
Colts Notebook: Thornton honors past, focuses on future
None of the 37 players at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center had to overcome more tragedy before pulling on an Indianapolis Colts helmet than rookie offensive guard Hugh Thornton.
-
Colts open 3-day rookie camp today
As a youngster growing up in Germany, Bjoern Werner woke up every Monday morning at 6 a.m. to download highlights from NFL.com before school.
-
George Bremer: Colts camp should draw big
Monday’s news the Indianapolis Colts will return to Anderson University this summer for the fourth straight year came as little surprise.
An announcement has been expected for weeks, and the school remains the team’s most logical training camp home. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty to look forward to as we count down the days to the players’ arrival — likely in late July. - More Colts Headlines
-
