At the same time, it was very, very familiar.

Hagler, a second-year linebacker for the Colts, has spent the off-season learning a new position, switching from weak-side linebacker to the strong side. It's a major transition, one that requires learning, focus and patience.

So, Hagler said . . .

What else is new?

The move from weak to strong meant a new position for Hagler, but it meant something else – that for the third time in as many NFL seasons, he will be at a new position.

In 2005, his rookie season, he played middle backer . . .

Last season, it was weakside . . .

Now, it’s strong, which Hagler said is another difficult switch, but a position where he also said he believes can excel.

“I really thought of it like they were giving me the best way to get on the field,” Hagler said during the Colts’ summer-school sessions, which concluded in mid-June at the team’s Training Facility.

“So, I took it as a good thing.”

As far as Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy sees it, that’s how the move should be taken.

Dungy said not only does the move put Hagler in a position that suits his skills, it gives him knowledge of yet another linebacker position.

That knowledge, Dungy said, makes Hagler a valuable member of the linebacking corps.

“That will help him in the long run,” Dungy said. “He’s physically as gifted as any linebacker we have. We have to settle on the right spot for him, but learning the whole thing and how everything fits, when he does end up playing, it will help.

“He’s another guy we’ve got to get going. He’s a very talented player.”

Hagler, a fifth-round selection by the Colts in the 2005 NFL Draft from the University of Cincinnati, missed his rookie season with a sports hernia injury. He returned last season, becoming a valuable member of the Colts’ special teams.

When he practiced in 2005 as a rookie, he practiced at middle linebacker, and last season, he worked mostly on the weakside.

When he played last season, it was mostly on special teams, and he finished with 11 special teams tackles, including seven solos. He had five special teams tackles in the postseason, including four solos.

“I feel like I got much better there (on special teams),” Hagler said. “I’m looking for more time and a bigger role on defense, actually. I’m really looking forward to that. I’m not starting, but I’m looking forward to them subbing me in or getting in the nickel package.

“My focus right now is the new position. They moved me over to sam (strongside). I’m just trying to get in and learn the position and perform it to the best of my ability.”

The move, Hagler said, wasn’t comfortable at first. “It seems like you take on more blockers than you do at will (weakside),” he said. “Last year at will, I was more of the free guy. That’s really the playmaker of the defense.

“I’m definitely going to miss that position, but I’m still learning each and every position, so if they have to move me I can fill in wherever they need me. I’m still going to keep my options open by learning each and every position, so if they put me at mike (middle) or back at will, I’ll know exactly what I’m doing once I’m there.”

Three positions in three seasons, Hagler said, has been difficult at times, but he said he agrees with Dungy that knowing many positions is better than knowing one.

“As of now, I have played them all,” he said, smiling. “At times, it’s a little overwhelming, because it seems like every year I’m playing a new position.

“It was overwhelming, but it’s good I can know each and every position, I can be more marketable. They can put me anywhere they feel I need to be.”

Hagler said he’s looking forward to next season for more reasons than a new position. Dungy often says a player makes his biggest jump from the first to second season.

Because he missed his rookie season with an injury, Hagler said he considered last season his rookie season.

“I do feel like I’m going into my second year and ready to make the jump,” Hagler said. “I’m more relaxed out there now and I know what I’m doing. All the plays that happen in front of me, it’s slowing down for me instead of going 100 mph.

“I feel much better and much more comfortable out there.”

Hagler said he started to see the difference on the field late last season, and he said he saw it to a greater degree in the Colts’ mini-camp and summer-school sessions. Although learning a new position, Hagler said the game came easier, and plays came more often.

“It definitely slows down,” Hagler said. “It seems like when I was out there for the first time last year, everything was going so fast and the coaches were telling me what to do. I was like, 'Man.’ I was trying and I was learning, but it takes a little time to get used to.

“Once you get used to it, you can catch on to it. I’ve pretty much got the grasp of it, so I’m ready to perform and to maximize my potential.”

And if maximizing the potential means switching again to another position, if that’s what has to happen, Hagler said he’s fine with it – enough so, he said, to try to make his latest position a permanent one.

“It’s hard to say, but you know what? If that’s what I’ve got to play, I’m going to make it my permanent home,” Hagler said. “I can definitely see the difference.

“It’s going to definitely be a better year for me.”

THE LINEBACKERS

Rob Morris

Eighth NFL season

6-2, 243

Brigham Young

Acquired: First round, 2000 (No. 28 Overall)

Morris, the Colts’ first-round selection in the 2000 NFL Draft, will enter training camp as the starter at strong-side linebacker. . . . A starter at middle linebacker from 2001-2004, Morris backed up Gary Brackett at middle linebacker in 2005 and throughout much of 2006 before taking over as the starting strong-side backer with three games remaining in the regular season. . . . He started at strong-side linebacker throughout the playoffs and was a big reason for Indianapolis’ post-season defensive resurgence. . . . He had 48 defensive tackles, with 30 solos, and 21 special teams stops, 14 solos. . . . In the postseason, he had 21 tackles and 16 solos.

Freddy Keiaho

Second NFL season

5-11, 226

San Diego State

Acquired: Third Round, 2006

Keiaho, the Colts’ third-round selection in the 2006 NFL Draft, will enter training camp as the starter at weak-side linebacker. . . . He appeared in 14 games as a reserve last season, with nine tackles, four solos, and two forced fumbles. . . . He also had 14 special teams tackles, with 13 solos.

Gary Brackett

Fifth NFL season

5-11, 235

Rutgers

Acquired: Free Agent, 2003

Brackett, who joined the Colts as a collegiate free agent in 2003, will enter his third season as the team’s starting middle linebacker next season. . . . He served as the Colts’ defensive captain last season. . . . He finished last season with 123 tackles, 72 solos, with two forced fumbles and one pass defensed. . . . His tackle total ranked second on the team. . . . Brackett also started four games in the postseason, finishing with 23 tackles, 17 solos, a pass defensed and a