Colts' Hughes eager to start learning new style

Football Betting Lines

04/23/2010 -

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Jerry Hughes wouldn't dare start spinning on his first full day as a Colt.

By the season opener, he might not have a choice.

The Colts introduced their newest defensive end Friday, and Hughes wasted no time in comparing himself to Indianapolis' two Pro Bowl defensive ends, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

``My game is very fast, very tenacious,'' Hughes said. ``When I get on the field, I play one speed and that's fast.''

Hughes' philosophy is a perfect match with the Colts defense, which is precisely the reason Colts president Bill Polian took Hughes with the 31st overall pick Thursday.

Polian had long been after a third speed rusher to keep Freeney and Mathis fresh or to fill in when Freeney and Mathis aren't 100 percent. The lack of a pass rush when Freeney and Mathis aren't going full bore, or playing together, has become a glaring weakness for Indy.

It was the primary reason San Diego beat Indy in the 2007 playoffs with a backup quarterback and backup running back.

It was the primary reason they couldn't stop Drew Brees in the Super Bowl, too.

So as Hughes slid down to the Colts in the first round Thursday, Polian quickly took the player who looks like a carbon-copy of Mathis and Freeney - minus, of course, Freeney's trademark move.

``I like Dwight Freeney, I like the way he plays,'' Hughes said. ``But I've got to work on that spin. He has a pretty nasty spin. It might take me a while, but it's something I definitely want to add to my repertoire.''

Freeney will gladly serve as Hughes' mentor, just as he did with Mathis and Eric Foster and other Colts linemen who fit the smallish mold.

At 6-foot-1, 255 pounds, Hughes has prototypical size for a Colts' end.

He ran a 4.69-second 40 on campus, and like Freeney, thought his NFL future would come at running back - until the TCU coaches handed him No. 98 as a freshman. Now he'll be wearing No. 92.

Suddenly, Hughes changed his perspective.

``I was a little shocked at first,'' Hughes said, wearing a suit and his shiny new ring from TCU's Mountain West title. ``I thought they were going to redshirt me, and then I thought 'That's cool.' My next question was how do I get out there on the field?''

Hughes figured it out pretty quick.

He started adding weight and muscle to his 210-pound body, and when he returned home for the first time, well, Hughes' parents almost didn't recognize him.

``It was surprising to see your little boy as this big guy,'' Hughes' father, Jerry Sr., said Friday. ``We knew he was gaining weight, but we didn't know it was going to be that fast.''

The converted running back also learned to use his speed and leverage to get around the behemoth offensive linemen, and when he got into the backfield Hughes developed a penchant for pulling down quarterbacks.

How good was he in college?

After leading the Football Bowl Subdivision with 15 sacks in 2008, Hughes beat all those extra blockers in 2009 for 11 1/2 sacks. His two-year total, 26 1/2, was the most in the nation.

He won the 2009 Ted thought Award as the nation's top defensive end. He was a semifinalist in 2008 and 2009 for the Chuck Bednarik Award, as college football's top defender. He was the Mountain West defensive player of the year last season.

And NFL scouts were so impressed, Hughes considered leaving school after his junior season before eventually returning to fulfill the promise he made to his parents by earning a degree. Mission accomplished.

Now, after adding 45 pounds in college, giving up his dream of being a running back and turning down a chance to turn pro a year early, Hughes has landed in the perfect spot for an apprenticeship.

``I just like the way he (Freeney) uses his speed, his power-rushing moves and that deadly spin that he has,'' Hughes said. ``I think I play fast, just like him.''

So do the Colts.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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