Strachan nabs two catches in Colts preseason win

Less than a week after finishing with three catches, Bahamian professional football player Michael “Mike” Strachan came away with two catches in an Indianapolis Colts 12-10 win against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night in the National Football League (NFL) preseason.

With the win at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Colts have a 2-0 win/loss record in the preseason.

Strachan, who appears to have gained the trust of the Colts’ coaching staff, caught two passes for 12 receiving yards in the game. He was targeted four times. He made one catch in each half.

Strachan’s first catch came at the 3:40 mark of the second quarter on a Colts’ second down play. He caught a pass on the right side from quarterback Jason Eason for a short gain of three yards. That catch was able to get the Colts to a third down and 10 yards situation on their own 31-yard line. That drive ended in a punt.

At the end of the first half, Strachan and his Colts were down 10-6.

The Colts needed 10 yards on a second down play at the 11:58 mark of the fourth quarter with the Vikings leading 10-9. Eason connected with Strachan to the right again, out of the shotgun, and for a gain of nine yards. He moved the ball to their own 42-yard line.

That drive was a positive one as the Colts took the ball to their opponent’s 10-yard line to set up a field goal kick for a chance to take the lead. Colts’ kicker Eddy Pineiro converted on the field goal to give the Colts a 12-10 lead with 6:25 remaining in the game.

That scoreline held up as the Vikings’ offense was unable to score the rest of the way.

In Strachan’s first outing, in last week’s 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers, he finished with three receptions for 57 yards. He averaged 19 yards per catch in that game. His longest reception was for 32 yards. He was targeted five times.

The Bahamian is now practicing with the first team offense – a good sign for him. NFL teams have until August 31 to submit their 53-man rosters. Strachan was a seventh-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, taken number 229 overall.

Strachan is a product of the University of Charleston (UC), which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II. Due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Strachan was unable to have a collegiate season in 2020. Looking at him on the field, and in practice so far, it is hard to tell that he hasn’t played competitive football since 2019 when he dominated opposing defenses. He is making the most of the opportunity that he has now.

At 6’5”, 224 pounds with good hands, and good leaping ability, Strachan will be tough to guard, particularly in the red zone.

At UC, the Grand Bahama native played in all 11 games for the Golden Eagles in 2019, totaling 19 touchdown receptions. He had 78 receptions for a total of 1,319 receiving yards. In his first three games that season, he had at least 145 receiving yards in each one. The former track athlete scored at least one touchdown in 10 of those 11 games that year and caught a touchdown in all 10 of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) games.

Those 19 touchdowns and 78 receptions that year were UC single-season records. The previous touchdown record was 13, which was set by Charlie Hubbard all the way back in 1950. The previous receptions record was 60, set by Terrance Spencer in 2006.

The Colts will look to continue their winning streak this preseason when they take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday.

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