8/8 indystar

[JAFF]

'I feel like I'm a better player': Colts TE Drew Ogletree on return from ACL tear

WESTFIELD - Drew Ogletree is launching himself into run blocks, catching touchdown passes from Anthony Richardson and laying out for receptions down the field.

He's showing flashes of who he was in last year's camp before he tore an ACL and lost his rookie season.

"Before I even stepped on the field, I had to take a deep breath in," Ogletree said. "First time back, there's some butterflies in the stomach, like, 'OK, we're back. We're about to go do this.'

"After that first rep, I was like, 'OK, we're back to normal. It's just like last year.'"


Ogletree was the breakout star at this time a year ago. He was a sixth-round rookie out of Youngstown State who looked nothing like a first-year player. He had a 6-foot-5, 260-pound body developed from six years of college and lifting with offensive linemen. He was an athlete who was once Ohio's Division III Player of the Year for high school basketball and a wide receiver at the University of Findlay, until Colts scout Chad Henry urged him to make the switch to tight end.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Drew Ogletree is looking to have another strong training camp after tearing his ACL late in last year's session.
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The Colts raved about this pick before he got on the field, and those weeks of August practice with Matt Ryan showed the rare rookie tight end who isn't overwhelmed by the speed of the playbook or the defense he's up against. Following Jack Doyle's retirement, and with second-round rookie Jelani Woods still growing into his 6-foot-7 frame, Ogletree was poised for a first-team role.


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Then he went down during a joint practice with the Lions and couldn't get up.

Ogletree remained in high spirits after the injury. He'd built a bond with Woods. He was less than two hours from where he grew up in Dayton, Ohio. And he could rehab with a purpose, having torn an ACL in the opposite knee in college, right before he transitioned to tight end.


The past few months have been about pushing himself back with precautions. He caught passes during the spring but didn't practice during veteran minicamp, even though he thought he could have. He didn't make it to Miami for Richardson's throwing camp with receivers because he was busy watching his 8-year-old son and younger brother, but he spent the mornings with them at a local field running sprints and pushing that knee back into shape.

He's playing with a brace, but it's on his left knee, not the one he just had surgically repaired.

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"I've been through this before, and I came out stronger last time," Ogletree said. "I know I can come out stronger this time.

"I feel like I'm a different player, but I feel like I'm a better player. I got that year under my belt and I can play more fast and I can play more smooth, with more technique. I can take everything I learned from last year and incorporate it this year."

The Colts could use the Ogletree they're seeing now. Last year's tight end room didn't feature any player with more than 302 yards, and the run game fell off a cliff without Doyle and other offensive line issues.

Indianapolis hired Shane Steichen to implement a variation of an Eagles offense that reached the Super Bowl and produced a second-straight 700-yard season for Dallas Goedert.

The Colts don't have a tight end that established, which is why they've made their room the most crowded on the roster. It currently features Woods, Ogletree, Kylen Granson, Mo Alie-Cox, Pharaoh Brown and fifth-round rookie Will Mallory, in addition to some players competing in camp. Not all will make the cut.

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But so long as he stays healthy, Ogletree can work himself into a lock at the position as perhaps the most balanced option between receiving and blocking. Both will be pertinent in an offense that plans to run the ball heavily with Richardson but that also needs to support the rookie quarterback with check-downs and safety valves when he does need to pass.

Ogletree wants to be that helping hand.

"When I got here, there were a lot of guys raving about the camp he had last year," said new tight ends coach Tom Manning, who arrives after spending the past four seasons at Iowa State. "He has certainly not disappointed. ... He carries himself like a professional. He has professional work habits. I think if you just met him, you'd be a little shocked maybe that he hasn't been here that long, but I think that's why he's here."

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It's early, and it still needs to translate to the games, but Woods and Ogletree are looking like a future duo at the position, given their complementary skill sets and room to grow. Woods is one of the most athletic tight end prospects in history and has trimmed his upper body in order to move smoother this season. Ogletree is more of the jack of all trades.

They're playing one of the most difficult positions to learn for young players, but they have each other as resources on the field now.

"Just knowing how this offense is, you can see the big picture of both of us being in there," Woods said. "It's definitely exciting, with him being back and working out the kinks and getting back to football. It's going to be awesome."

[JAFF]

Colts coaches on star LB Shaquille Leonard: 'Will he be the same guy he was 3 years ago?'

WESTFIELD — The Colts coaching staff has been watching.

Waiting for Shaquille Leonard to strike, to take the leap that never came last season.

Leonard has been back on the field practicing since the beginning of training camp, playing in 11-on-11 settings and recently was cleared for full contact, the final medical hurdle in his long road back from November surgery to relieve the pressure two discs in his back were putting on the nerves leading to his left leg.

The three-time first-team All-Pro finally made that leap in Sunday’s practice.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard (53) chats with defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) ahead of practice Monday, July 31, 2023, at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
“Everybody’s watching him as coaches — every plant, every break, everything he does,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “We saw his footwork, his change of direction, all of that, he was going in an upward manner, and he took a big jump yesterday in about three or four plays, where we saw it. I know I went over and talked to him, I said ‘That was your best day.’”


Bradley’s message had to sound like music to Leonard’s ears.

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The Colts linebacker has worked so hard to come back, rehabilitating his injury so diligently that when linebackers coach Richard Smith walked into the training room at 5:15 a.m. that day to recover from his own offseason surgery, on his ankle, Leonard was always there already, working hard with Indianapolis head strength and conditioning coach Richard Howell.


But getting medical clearance is only one piece of the puzzle, a puzzle the Colts coaching staff understands well. When Leonard returned to full contact, the linebacker admitted he was still dealing with some fear, understandable considering the frustrating starts and stops that marked his first attempt to return from the back injury, an injury that ultimately forced him to go through a second surgery.

“Any time you’re coming off an injury, and anybody that’s ever played the game is going to say this, you have to kind of remove the doubt, remove the fear,” Colts assistant linebackers coach Cato June said. “I remember, when I was coming back from my ACL in college, it was like, ‘Do I have the power? Do I have the (speed)? Is it going to hurt?' Getting through the pain. … All these things are going through your mind, but once you remove the doubt, once you go out there and make a play, it’s almost like you go right back to where you were mentally.”


For Leonard, making a play has always meant the same thing.

Getting his hands on the football. The linebacker who’s produced 17 forced fumbles, 12 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries knows he’s right when the football is in his hands.

Like it was on two plays Sunday.


The first time, Leonard picked off a pass in one-on-one coverage drills — an impressive play in a drill where the offense has the advantage. Anthony Richardson tried to fit a ball in over the middle in 7-on-7 a little later, only to find Leonard’s right hand in the way, nearly hauling in a one-handed interception.

June, a Pro Bowler in his own right, saw the spark immediately.

“In his mind, it’s like, ‘These are the plays I make,’” June said. “You’re removing a mental block.”

Being unable to make those plays last season was frustrating.

Understandably. When a player has reached the heights Leonard has in the NFL, it’s tough to flip on the film and see what looks like a different player wearing the number you made famous.

“A year ago, I felt very, very sorry for the guy,” Smith said. “Any time you’ve got a great player like that, in terms of very, very prideful, leader, playmaker, the Colts organization is extremely important to him, winning’s very important to him, that is tough.”

Smith has built a close relationship with Leonard, the kind that has helped the Colts star on his way back from a rare injury.

The 67-year-old coach has been in the NFL for 45 years, and he calls it like he sees it.

When Smith turned on the tape and saw Leonard’s left leg, the one affected by the nerve compression, dragging, he always pointed it out.

“His honesty,” Leonard said. “Telling me if I look bad, telling me if I need to be out there or not.”

The plays Leonard made Sunday, the plays that caught Bradley’s attention, those were the signs the Colts have been hoping they find.

A healthy Leonard is a game-changer. As middle linebacker Zaire Franklin was saying after practice the other day, the ball finds Leonard.

And when it does, he knows exactly what to do with it.

“Will he be that same guy that he was three years ago? I don’t know that,” Smith said. “He doesn’t know that yet. But I’m going to tell you what he is: He’s a coach on the field, he has probably the best instincts and understanding of ball that I’ve ever been around. Let’s say he’s limited a little bit, because of his injuries, he can make up for it, in terms of big-play ability, because of his instinct and his knowledge.”

Instincts Leonard’s body is starting to let him put on display again.

[Oldcolt]

Its really early but if Ogletree and Leonard can keep this up it would be huge for us. Tight end was a loss last year and we desperately need turn overs. i have no expectations for this team but this being the NFL we could be playoff bound or get a high draft pick. Cannot wait for the season