Former Ball State players in NFL camps
Jonathan Newsome - Indianapolis Colts
Eric Patterson - Indianapolis Colts
Kitt O'Brien - Indianapolis Colts
Sean Baker - Atlanta Falcons
Keith Wenning - Cincinnati Bengals
Jahwan Edwards - San Diego Chargers
Willie Snead - New Orleans Saints
The horn sounds, signaling the end of the final morning walk-through. A herd of Colts rally around head coach Chuck Pagano to break the team huddle.
They all look the same, from a distance. Large, athletically-gifted men wearing white mesh practice jerseys with a blue, screen-printed number on both sides.
But three of them are different from the rest.
Three former Ball State players in Colts training camp at Anderson University look to make a name for themselves and their alma mater. They're just a fraction of the seven former Cardinals in NFL camps across the nation.
Jonathan Newsome burst onto the scene last season, but cornerback Eric Patterson and guard Kitt O'Brien have something to prove.
"[Patterson and O’Brien] are just as good as anybody here," Newsome said. "Athletic-wise they’re picking up on everything pretty fast and just making the most out of the opportunities they’re given. I’m pretty sure they’ll do good when the time comes and show out in the preseason game, and God willing they’ll make the team.”
They've all been through adversity to get here.
Newsome experienced it early in college, when he transferred to Ball State from Ohio State after academic trouble.
He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Colts, and went on to lead the team in sacks with 6.5. His presence was relieving when the team was looking for answers after Robert Mathis was out for the season.
Newsome is less stressed in camp this year, he said. His role has gone from an overachieving rookie to a second-year player with high expectations.
“Newsome is a great help," Patterson said. "He just tells me what I need to do in order to make the team, because he went through it last year. If we’re doing reps, he will say ‘E, go get you some more reps.’ He really wants me to make the team and I really appreciate him.”
Patterson and O'Brien both played four seasons for the Cardinals. As undrafted free agents, the odds are stacked against them to make the team. Both are just thankful for the opportunity.
Football is more than just a game for them. It's a way to feed their dream of making it.
“It’s an opportunity to play football," O'Brien said. "It’s what I feel like I was put on this earth to do. So I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
O'Brien has played in the arena league for two seasons. He got the call to Colts camp last week, took a physical and was thrown into camp right away.
The mental part of the game has been the hardest for him, he said. After all, he only had to know two blocking schemes in the AFL.
O'Brien has learned almost every scheme the Colts run in a short time. And at 6-foot-5 and 310 lbs, physicality isn't the problem.
“Say you rode a bike a hundred years ago and someone asks you to ride it a hundred years in the future," O'Brien said. "You know how to do it, but you don’t remember how to do it until you get on it.”
Patterson's story is different. He was signed by the defending-champion Patriots after going undrafted. After being cut and signed by the Colts, he's now learned from two of the league's most successful franchises.
His family serves as motivation to make the cut.
“It’s a great opportunity because I’m close to my daughter," Patterson said. "That’s really big for me and for coach Pagano to give me this chance to play for the Colts, I really appreciate it.”
Newsome said it's important to have Ball State players in the professional ranks. It will open the door to recruiting because players will see the sky is the limit.
The Colts begin the preseason Aug. 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Chuck Pagano said they will try to get everyone that's healthy some playing time.
His message is for young guys not to worry about mistakes, but to make them going 1,000 miles per hour.
"Go have fun," Pagano says.
This is a different stage than Scheumann Stadium. But Newsome is confident that his Ball State brothers, now in blue and white, will show out when it's time.
“It means a lot [to play in an NFL game]," Patterson said. "Growing up and playing Madden, just always creating yourself on the game. Just being able to go out and put on a jersey with your last name in the NFL, that means a lot.”
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