Former Hawkeyes get to work with Colts

INDIANAPOLIS — Tevaun Smith knows he has work to do to make an NFL team. His locker showed that much.

The former Iowa wide receiver was one of 21 undrafted free agents that participated in the Indianapolis Colts' rookie minicamp that concluded on Sunday. They were alongside the team's eight draft picks, including former Hawkeye Austin Blythe, a seventh-round selection.

Add in another 22 players who were there on a tryout basis, and locker space gets sparse. The team's veterans — like quarterback Andrew Luck — don't participate in this minicamp, but that doesn't mean their wooden lockers, built into the walls, have been cleared out for others.

The draft picks — such as Blythe — are given a permanent locker fixture. But players like Smith — along with most of his undrafted peers — were put in blue metal lockers that are temporarily located in the middle of the locker room. Some players were even put in an auxiliary room. A small reminder of the fragility of trying to make it in the NFL.

'The fact that I'm here doesn't mean I made it,' Smith said. 'I still have a lot of work to do and I'm going to do whatever I can to stay here.'

In his mind, Smith needed to show Colts' coaches two main attributes: his speed and willingness to play multiple positions. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at his pro day. That has prompted the Colts to use Smith as a gunner on special teams coverage in camp, while also considering him as a punt returner.

'I need to make sure I'm running fast every single play,' Smith said. 'I want to show them that that 4.3 is just not running a straight line on my 40, but that you can see it on the field.'

Smith chose to sign with Indianapolis over interest from Buffalo, Green Bay, Houston and Oakland. Several Canadian Football League teams have contacted him to gauge his interest in playing there.

Update: Smith was taken eighth overall in the CFL draft by the Edmonton Eskimos Thursday night.

With the final pick in the first round the May 10, 2016

With the final pick in the first round the @EdmontonEsks select @TheIowaHawkeyes WR @TevaunSmith. #CFLDraft pic.twitter.com/YcTW0izNsG

— #CFLDraft (@CFL)

'I've told them that my doors are not closed and I'm looking at every single option,' Smith said last week. 'But I'm here (in the NFL) right now. The blessing is that I will end up somewhere. But I want to end up here (with the Colts) and do whatever I can to make that happen.'

One draft process was enough for Blythe, who was on the phone with another team that was showing interest in him as an undrafted free agent when he received a phone call from the Colts informing him he was their next draft selection.

The Colts selected Alabama center Ryan Kelly 18th overall. But their offensive line wasn't good last season, which led to Luck getting injured and only playing seven games. Because of that, fixing the offensive line became a focal point for the Colts, who used four of their eight draft selections at that position.

'You don't expect a team to take two centers, but I'm very lucky that the Colts decided to do that,' Blythe said. 'And now I'm here trying to work.'

Colts' offensive line and assistant head coach Joe Philbin, a former Hawkeye assistant coach with Kirk Ferentz from 1999-2002, worked Blythe out during Iowa's pro day. The evaluation of Philbin, along with an Iowa pedigree, was enough for Colts' management to select Blythe.

'One thing about Iowa offensive linemen, they always are so technically sound,' Colts general manager Ryan Grigson said. 'They need very little coaching. They know how to step. Their footwork is always impeccable and they put themselves in positions to win on the offensive line. Those guys are always very sound football players.'

Kelly seems destined to be the starter from Day 1 at center, with his locker already next to Luck. But several Indianapolis-area media outlets are expecting Blythe to make the team.

During the minicamp, Blythe was playing center and guard. That's nothing new for him, doing both at Iowa during his career. He started his entire senior year at center, but shifted to start seven games at the guard positions as a junior due to injuries to other players.

While surrounded by a scrum of reporters during an open locker room period, Blythe was asked if he was more of a center than a guard.

'I consider myself an offensive lineman,' Blythe said. 'I don't really stand up and introduce myself as a center or guard. It's offensive line. That's what I was taught at Iowa. You don't go there to play a position and that's the mind-set I'm bringing here. You don't come into the NFL to play a position. You play offensive line. I'm trying to learn everything I can and help however I can.'

Showing he can play guard in the NFL may earn him a roster spot in the long run, as versatility is key for inside linemen looking to make the team as a reserve. That's just fine with Blythe, who has embraced that idea for these early workouts.

'It's just important to show you are willing to play anywhere, you're going to prepare to play anywhere and you're going to work hard to play anywhere,' Blythe said. 'That's my mind-set in this camp.'