Colts’ Mike Strachan no longer a secret

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A breakthrough performance at training camp has Colts fans buzzing.

Mike Strachan’s journey from the Bahamas to Charleston, West Virginia helped him become Grand Park’s hidden gem.

“I’m just an island boy from the Bahamas,” Strachan said. “Love my family, love the Colts organization.”

The secret is out about the Colts’ seventh-round pick. All it took was one standout performance in the preseason for the Big Mike fan club to form.

“That’s a big body, man,” veteran Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton said. “You know, he’s, he’s huge. Just throw it up, let him go get him. And he’s running. He runs really fast. Uh, you know, I can’t wait to see all the things he can do.”

After his NFL preseason debut, the rookie rallied support from legends around the league like Reggie Wayne and Chad Johnson — as well as underdogs everywhere — who encouraged the former Division II star to steal a roster spot.

“Talked to a lot of people, you know, who who’ve been there and done that,” Strachan said. “For example, Michael Irvin, he told me before I came in for camp, you know, he told me to come in and just be yourself and whenever you get a chance, go out there and make a play.”

Meanwhile, Colts cornerback Xavier Rhodes has noticed both his size and physicality at camp. He compared Strachan to a handful of receivers he’s faced throughout his career.

“You look at the receivers like Calvin Johnson, look at receivers like, uh, Julio Jones, um, Brandon Marshall when he was at Chicago, Alshon Jeffrey, I can keep going down the list of the guys I went with. He has the ability to be that, but I mean, he’d have to keep working,” Rhodes said.

The Strachan stock keeps rising as the rookie keeps climbing the depth chart during camp. In fact, he earned first team reps during practice No. 15 in Westfield.