‘I just like to hit people’: Colts put full pads on at training camp

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Full pads were officially put on for Colts training camp on Tuesday for the first time on Tuesday.

The first three practice of training camp were not with full pads. Now, the shoulder pads have been put on as the Colts ramp up to their first preseason game.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen thought the first practice with full pads on went really good.

“I liked the way the guys competed today in full pads, taking care of each other, but really competing at a high level today,” Steichen said.

The players agreed. Defensive end Tyquan Lewis was especially happy to have the full pads back on.

“That’s my favorite time of the year,” Lewis said. “I don’t like spiders or whatever they call them. I just like to hit people.”

“It went great,” Laiatu Latu said. “I feel like it hasn’t changed drastically for me other than you get to thud a little bit, people got some tension going on, but I mean it’s been amazing.”

It wasn’t just the defensive lineman that were happy to suit up on Tuesday. The offensive lineman were happy to have the full pads on as well.

“It’s just awesome,” Bernhard Raimann said. “Getting back to playing with the guys and then competing against the defensive guys. So, it’s just great to be back out there. It’s real football again and it’s fun – that’s what makes it fun.”

Getting the full pads back on helps the coaching staff figure things out too. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was really excited for that.

“We put the pads on, get out there and try to run the ball a little bit, and pass protect and all that fun stuff, we’ll kind of really find out what we got,” Cooter said on Saturday.

The Colts return to practice at Grand Park for training camp on Wednesday from 10-11:30 a.m.