WESTFIELD, Ind. — The long wait for football season is over. The first day of Colts training camp was on Thursday.

While it means the end of the offseason and back to work for coaches and players, there was still a lot of excitement for being back.

But nobody was more excited that Colts rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

“Oh, I jumped out of bed,” Mitchell said. “It was bright and early. I think I beat the sun. I’m pretty ready. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be long, it’s going to be hard, but it’s what we do it for.”

Mitchell wasn’t the only rookie excited to take on training camp. Colts first round pick Laiatu Latu said it is going to be pretty nerve racking, but he is super excited.

But, it’s not just the rookies that are happy to be back.

“It was a good first day,” defensive end Kwity Paye said. “Knocked the rust off and just a great day to get out there and play some football.”

“I’m just cherishing every moment,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “I was excited to wake up this morning. Shoot, I could barely sleep last night.”

“Every year in the offseason, I get tired of running and cutting on cones,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “I get tired of all the workouts and the workout videos and all that stuff. I get ready to play some real football. (I’m) always happy to be with my team.”

The fans were happy to have the Colts back at Grand Park as well. The Colts City activities were packed the whole morning, and so were most of the stands to watch practice.

Young fans lined up against the walls to try to get autographs and pictures with the players as they walked off the field.

The Colts hit the field for their next practice of training camp on Saturday from 10-11:15 a.m.