Colts training camp competition has an early frontrunner

The big position competition at Colts training camp is for the starting quarterback job. But there’s other battles going on, too. 

One of those position fights is beginning to take shape. While it is still early, Spencer Shrader appears to have taken the lead on Maddux Trujillo in the kicker competition. 

After practice on Saturday, special teams coordinator Brian Mason revealed that Shrader has been converting his kicks at a 87% clip (both pre-practice and during practice reps) while Trujillo has been slightly less consistent at 74%. Ideally, Mason wants them each above 90% by the end of camp. 

It’s not uncommon for less experienced kickers to struggle with consistency early on, as both Shrader and Trujillo have. But practice isn’t the same as a game setting. 

Mason said that while practice sessions provide valuable insight into both kickers, the true evaluation begins when preseason starts. 

"There's plenty of times where we're going to kick individually or we're in pre-practice that will be scripted and evaluated," he said. "But the biggest time they're going to be evaluated is when we go into a team setting, when we go into joint practices, when we go in preseason that is truly an open competition, so we're trying to get those guys equal reps as much as we possibly can early on to see who can take hold of that competition.”

Mason said there’s no timetable on selecting a starter and the Colts will let the competition play itself out. But for now, it appears Shrader has the upper hand.