Colts fans get a look at Luck

PHOTOS

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INDIANAPOLIS — Colts fans got a glimpse of their future Wednesday, and Andrew Luck got a taste of how challenging the transition from Peyton Manning could be.

When the No. 1 overall draft pick walked off the field after a two-hour practice at Lucas Oil Stadium, he was surrounded by reporters and then signed autographs for hundreds of fans. Some were dressed in Manning jerseys.

The new quarterback embraced the whole scene.

“It’s great, a lot of energy. This was definitely the most fans I’ve practiced in front of, and I think it got better as practice went on,” Luck said. “I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the best football crowd in America.”

The Colts billed the public workout as a chance for potential ticket-buyers to get an up-close look at the views from seats that remain unsold. In reality, most of the estimated 7,500 fans showed up for one reason: To see Manning’s replacement throw passes for the first time in a Colts uniform.

Luck has been inside Lucas Oil before, less than 24 hours after Indianapolis officially began the transition from a four-time league MVP to the No. 1 draft pick. On that day, Luck threw one pass – a short completion to a 9-year-old who had life-saving surgery at Riley Hospital for Children.

On Wednesday, Luck completed 26 of 37 passes when Indianapolis’ revamped defense was on the field. Three of Luck’s incompletions were spikes during the two-minute drill.

Fans weren’t interested in the numbers, though. They just wanted to see if Luck could live up to the hype.

Judging from first impressions, Luck passed.

“He’s the real deal, he’s looking very sharp right now,” said Larry Lineback, a 42-year-old Indianapolis native.

“He overthrew one and that was the only one I’ve seen.”

Wednesday marked the eighth time Luck has worked out with the Colts since being drafted in April. He practiced five times during a three-day rookie mini-camp in May and returned Tuesday for two more practices after classes wrapped up at Stanford.

The Colts have one more practice scheduled during this three-day mini-camp, which ends this morning.