Strachan settling in at Colts training camp

Bahamian rookie professional football player Michael “Mike” Strachan is settling in as the Indianapolis Colts training camp gets into full swing at the Grand Park Sports Complex, Westfield, Indiana.

The wide receiver caught up with reporters after practice on Friday to talk about how training camp has been going for him.

“Each day, I am getting better,” Strachan said. “It is my job to come out here and get better and take the coaching. I am learning the plays really well and I am getting adjusted. Coach is helping me along the way, so I am feeling a lot more comfortable and the more comfortable I feel, the faster I play.

“I know it is a higher level. I wanted to come out here and show how well I am able to compete and do my job. Coach talked about it all the time. Coming out and doing your job each play, so that is the role that I am willing to play.”

The 23-year-old is under the watchful eyes of wide receiver coach Mike Groh who has 22 years’ experience under his belt.

“I set up a lot of extra meetings with him (Groh) and went deeper into the game and seeing where I fit well,” said Strachan. “It is a blessing to take coaching from head coach Frank Reich and all the other coaches like Coach Groh. I take everything they say and take my notes and I just listen to what they are saying because I know they will bring out the best in me. I am just all in.”

He joined a Colts team that finished second in the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division last season with an 11-5 win/loss record. They made the playoffs but were eliminated in the wild card round by the Buffalo Bills, losing 27-24.

The Bahamian was drafted with the 229th overall pick and first pick in the seventh round in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Colts. His journey to the National Football League (NFL) was an improbable one with him coming from a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II school in the University of Charleston (UC). He was not highly recruited either but he recalls UC taking a liking toward him.

“I am born and raised in The Bahamas, so I had to come over here and finish high school, so nobody knew me going into the recruiting process. It was a long process for me, and the university of Charleston came in and they liked me a lot. I took a visit and built a great relationship with the coaches and the teammates. I just felt like it was the place for me,” Strachan said.

Asked whether anything has surprised him yet in training camp, the 6’5” 224-pound playmaker said nothing has just yet.

“Nothing really surprised me,” Strachan said. “I have had talks with Michael Irving. He told me what it would be like and I came out expecting what it was.

“It is a lot more detailed here with the route running, the alignment. The assignment is a lot more detailed.”

He had a drop in training camp but got back on the horse and resumed practice. It is one of those things that he said Reich instills in his team.

“Coach Reich always said that if you have a mental slip, a mistake, dropped ball or not in the right area, just come back, get the next one and erase it out of your mind and that is what I did. First of all, is believing in myself. I believe in myself and I have a big heart and I am always ready to compete and that is what it comes down to,” Strachan said.

He will have to compete with athletes like T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal to crack the depth chart.

Preseason for the Colts kicks-off on Sunday, August 15, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play the Carolina Panthers. It will be the first time the Bahamian suits up in the NFL.

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 speedster 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 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.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UC did not have a football season in 2020.

Strachan was once a track and field athlete with hopes of representing The Bahamas at the Summer Olympic Games. He congratulated Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo on capturing the men’s and women’s 400-meter titles, respectively, at the just-concluded Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.

The post Strachan settling in at Colts training camp appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/strachan-settling-in-at-colts-training-camp/