The first thing Andrew Luck noticed about rookie guard Quenton Nelson was his back.
He calls it the biggest he's ever seen. And he's not the only guy doing double-takes of his new Customized Arizona Cardinals Jerseys , massive personal protector.
Veteran guard Matt Slauson talks about Nelson's expansive shoulders and enormous chest. Longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo dubbed Nelson an immovable refrigerator on reporting day.
Regardless of the description, they seem apt for the newest addition to another revamped Indianapolis Colts offensive line.
"At guard, you want one of those people that if he's walking down the street and someone comes and runs at him full speed, that person is going to get knocked out," Castonzo said. "He's got that ability that when people run into him, they move, and he doesn't."
The Colts have spent years searching for someone with Nelson's punch.
Andrew Luck took more than 400 hits from 2012-16, the highest total among quarterbacks in the league, and has been sacked an astounding 156 times in 70 career starts.
All those shots finally caught up with Luck. He missed nine games with assorted injuries in 2015, made 15 starts in 2016 despite playing through shoulder pain and missed all of last season to rehab from surgery for a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
If it wasn't obvious Indy needed to invest in protecting Luck after he signed a $140 million contract extension in 2016, three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance made the next step clear.
So the Colts went big.
They selected the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Notre Dame linemen No. 6 overall in April's draft 鈥?the first guard selected that high in more than two decades.
He has not disappointed at training camp. Nelson has already shown c he's capable of stoning more experienced defensive linemen, using his flexibility and balance to keep his body in front of pass rushers and flicking away opponents with a quick swipe of his strong hands.
"There's a reason an offensive guard was picked sixth overall," said Jack Mewhort, the Colts' former starter and a second-round pick in 2014. "Obviously, we haven't played the game yet M.J. Stewart Jersey , but from everything I've seen, he's lived up to it so far. He's the man."
The first real test comes Aug. 9 at Seattle. But Colts fans got a glimpse of what to expect when the Colts put on full pads for the first time last weekend.
In Saturday's one-on-one drills, Nelson managed to recover from the initial punch of a 305-pound defensive tackle then stood his ground and drove the defender backward.
General manager Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich expected nothing less after watching his college tape and hearing him explain his goal would be breaking the will of an opponent.
"He just brings a lot of power, but then you've also got his young, bulldog tenacity that is a lot of fun and fun to watch," said Slauson, now in his 10th NFL season. "I don't have a lot of the athletic tools he has, but I consider myself a big-bodied guy and I like to bring kind of a nastiness myself. What I am going to try and do with him is help him grow in the game as fast as he can."
Nelson and rookie guard Braden Smith, a second-round pick, could change the whole complexion of the franchise.
With Luck signed through 2021 and center Ryan Kelly, a first-round pick in 2016, coming back from an injury-plagued second season, Nelson and Smith could help the Colts plug what has been a leaky interior line.
"Ryan has been a big help for me," Nelson said. "He's the smartest guy in the room. He knows all of the assignments. He's been a huge help for me on and off the field."
Instead, Nelson lets his play, intensity and size speak for themselves.
"He did approach me in the hallway (Saturday) and I was a little shocked because it was the first day in pads Malik Jefferson Jersey Bengals ," Reich said, laughing through his answer. "I won't get into the details of what he was saying exactly, but let's just say he was excited to be in pads."
Notes: Tuesday's practice was moved inside because of rain, but Reich said he thought the Colts reacted with energy and emotion. Longtime center Jeff Saturday attended the workout. ... Austin Howard, who should battle for the starting right tackle job, was activated from the nonfootball injury list Tuesday. Reich said Castonzo (hamstring) and starting safety Clayton Geathers (offseason knee surgery) were "real close" to being activated from the physically unable to perform list "very soon." ... Linebacker Anthony Walker is expected to miss several weeks after injuring his groin during Sunday night's practice.
With a last name such as his, Brady Tkachuk’s life has unsurprisingly revolved around hockey.
Whether it was breaking basement windows or the garage door playing with his father Keith and older brother Matthew, or heading to the rink to attend Blues practices, the 18-year-old has plenty of childhood memories while growing up in St. Louis.
”We’d go on the ice before they practiced and there were some guys who would come out like David Perron, David Backes, T.J. Oshie,” Tkachuk said at the NHL pre-draft combine on Saturday, referring to his father’s former teammates. ”And those guys would spend their time, while Matthew and I were skating around, passing and shooting and joking around with us. Those were some of my big memories.”
Keith Tkachuk is considered one of the game’s top Americans during a 19-year NHL career that ended in 2010. Matthew, 20 Authentic Pernell McPhee Jersey , is already in the NHL after completing his second season with the Calgary Flames.
At the rate Brady Tkachuk is developing, there’s a very good chance he’ll enjoy more memorable moments in the near future.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds, and still growing, Tkachuk is ranked second among North American draft-eligible prospects by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau. That puts the forward in the mix to be among the top five players – and first American – selected once the draft opens at Dallas on June 22.
Much like his father, Tkachuk has a combination of hard-hitting and play-making components to his game. He had eight goals and 31 points, plus 61 penalty minutes in 40 games in his freshman season at Boston University.
He also has leadership potential after serving as captain of the bronze-medal-winning U.S. team at the World Junior hockey championships last winter.
”He’s a complete package that can be impactful in every situation with and without the puck,” central scouting bureau director Dan Marr said. ”He knows what needs to be done, and he’s not afraid to get dirty to go out and do it. But he also has the skills and finesse to play that type of a game to win you the game.”
The world junior tournament became Tkachuk’s coming out party in finishing tied for fifth among tournament players with nine points. It carried over into the second half of his college season, where he had four goals and 17 points in his final 21 games in helping the Terriers clinch just their eighth Hockey East tournament championship.
Tkachuk credited his improved production to learning how to play against older opponents.
”I was used to winning battles, every battle in the USHL because they’re all my own age. But I found playing against 23-year-olds was different,” he said. ”Instead of just using my body, I had to use my mind, too, a little bit more and try to outsmart them.”
What stands out is Tkachuk’s outgoing personality.
He wasn’t afraid to joke during pre-draft interviews with prospective teams in saying how better looking he was than other players. And then there’s the picture accompanying Tkachuk’s combine profile, which features him with an upturned-lip smirk.
”I like the smirk,” Tkachuk said. ”I’ve done it before and a lot of guys think it’s funny. It’s just my personality.”
It helps not feeling intimidated being around NHLers Joel Iyiegbuniwe Color Rush Jersey , given his upbringing. He developed in a youth hockey system in St. Louis that included the sons of former NHL stars such as Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and Jeff Brown.
Tkachuk doesn’t feel burdened by having to live up to his last name. Instead, it’s motivation in fueling him to match what his father did in ranking fifth among American-born scorers with 1,065 points, and to one day keep pace with his brother, who already has 37 goals and 97 points in 144 games with Calgary.
The competition could begin on draft day, when Tkachuk has a chance to be selected higher than his father (taken 19th in 1990) and brother (No. 6, in 2016).
That would be fine with everyone, Keith Tkachuk said.
”I would love that,” the proud father said, before breaking into a laugh. ”And Matthew would like it because he doesn’t want to sit in the stands too long watching.”
Brady Tkachuk joked, the only concern is if he gets drafted by Edmonton, and the potential of one day pitting the two Tkachuks against each other in the ever-intense Alberta rivalry between the Oilers and Flames.
”It’s definitely been discussed in my family,” Tkachuk said. ”It would be pretty cool, but I think it would be pretty stressful for the mom.”
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