With the Indianapolis Colts on their bye week, several current and former players may be spotted on the sidelines of some college games.
by Noah Compton
The Indianapolis Colts will spend their bye week relaxing and recharging as they look to get healthy as they embark upon the final stretch of the season with a .500 record (5-5) to their names. With this time off, many members of the Colts family, both past and present, have elected to support their relatives by taking a trip to their college football game(s) this Saturday.
This is by no means out of the ordinary as players, coaches, and everybody inbetween within an NFL organziation likes to spend their bye week this way, however, a double digit slew of those who have ever donned the horseshoe will be in attendance for their family.
Colts visiting college games during bye week
Of those currently on the team, WR Michael Pittman Jr. and rookies WR Josh Downs and DT Adetomiwa Adebawore all have brothers who play division-1 football. As opposed to Downs and Adebawore, who are both just a year removed from college football, MPJ is the odd man out here given he hasn’t rocked his USC Trojan fit in over four years, though he’ll never let you forget how proud he is to be a Trojan.
In an ironic and almost bittersweet twist, MPJ’s younger brother, Mycah, has since transferred and will finish his college career at the University of Utah, the football program that has given USC the most fits out of any PAC-12 team of the last half-decade. When it comes to what he [MPJ] wants to see out of his little brother, Pittman Jr. said, “I want my brother to go for eight catches, 180 yards and still lose.”
Unfortunately for the rivarly in question, the PAC-12 conference will be dissolving after this season to just two teams and USC/Utah are set to leave elsewhere, somewhere different from one another. Therefore the Utes’ win against the Trojans back in October will provide indefinite bragging rights for Mycah Pittman.
Along with the previously mentioned three players who will be supporting their brothers, two coaches and a general manager will join in on the fun. General Manager Chris Ballard, Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley, and RBs Coach DeAndre Smith will all be in attendance to support their son(s).
All three of their sons play quarterback with Smith and Bradley’s sons, Donovan and Carter, have been their team’s starting QB all season long and Chris Ballard’s son, Cole, has started in relief for the Kansas Jayhawks as recent as this past week.
| Current Colts | Role with Colts | Relative | Class | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adetomiwa Adebawore | Defensive Tackle | Adepoju (Brother) | Freshman | DL | Oklahoma |
| Chris Ballard | General Manager | Cole (Son) | Freshman | QB | Kansas |
| Gus Bradley | Defensive Coordinator | Carter (Son) | Senior | QB | South Alabama |
| Josh Downs | Wide Receiver | Caleb (Brother) | Freshman | S | Alabama |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | Wide Receiver | Mycah (Brother) | Senior | WR | Utah |
| DeAndre Smith | RBs Coach | Donovan (Son) | Junior | QB | Houston |
| Past Colts | Years with Colts | Relative | Class | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmad Bradshaw | ’13-’15 | Xavion Turner- (Son) | Freshman | WR | Virginia Tech |
| Frank Gore | ’15-’17 | Frank Jr. (Son) | Junior | RB | Southen Miss |
| Mavin Harrison | ’96-’08 | Marvin Jr. (Son) | Junior | WR | Ohio State |
| Chris Hinton | ’84-’89 | Myles (Son) | Senior | OT | Michigan |
| Edgerrin James | ’99-’05 | Eden (Son) | Sophomore | RB | Howard |
| Peyton Manning | ’98-’10 | Arch (Nephew) | Freshman | QB | Texas |
| Marcus Pollard | ’94-’04 | Micah (Son) | Sophomore | LB | Michigan |
While this is all about supporting family, maybe some of these players will find themselves in a Colts uniform some time down the road. Fans are certainly hoping for some legacy players.
Originally posted on horseshoeheroes.com