Eventually . . .

But during the first few plays of a mini-camp, particularly for the defensive players, that awe is a very real feeling. Here, there are wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. There . . .

There, that’s quarterback Peyton Manning.

It’s, it’s . . .

Well, for a few plays – and maybe a few days – it’s just plain incredible.

“It’s pretty crazy right now,” rookie safety Brannon Condren said Saturday afternoon, shortly after the second practice of the Colts’ 2007 mini-camp, which will continue through Sunday at the team’s practice facility.

“You look across the line, and line up against Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning and all of them. You grow up watching them on TV forever, so just to be out there with them now is a crazy experience. I’m loving it, though.”

Such is the mood around the Colts’ practice facility this weekend.

There are nine rookies and 18 collegiate free agents currently on the Colts’ roster. Nearly all were in attendance at the team’s rookie mini-camp on May 4-6, a week after the 2007 NFL Draft.

But that weekend was about orientation. And acclimation.

None of the veterans practiced that weekend, and although many of the rookies met and shook hands with a few “name” players that first weekend, this camp is different.

This weekend, the rookies are on the field, in the locker room and in meeting rooms with the veterans.

This weekend, it’s a lot closer to the real thing.

The acclimation process this weekend, Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said Saturday, has gone about as he expected. During the rookie mini-camp, he said he was impressed with how the class picked up on the details and how they listened and followed directions.

At Friday’s first practice with the veterans, the rookies were a bit slow, Dungy said.

By Saturday morning, he said that was improving.

“I thought our young guys looked a lot better this morning,” Dungy said after Saturday morning’s practice. “Just in terms of doing some things they’d worked on in the rookie camp, and things coming a little more natural to them, I thought the tempo went better this morning.

“It’s probably a pretty normal progression.”

That progression, the one from college to the football’s highest level, often depends on adapting to the speed of the game, something linebacker Clint Session – a fourth-round selection from the University of Pittsburgh – said has been the biggest adjustment.

“I thought we played at a fast level at Pitt,” Session said. “It’s nothing compared to here. It’s so fast here and they demand so much speed out of you. All the speed they thought you had coming in – they want you to use it. It’s fast, man.”

Session said he didn’t play against the first-team offense Friday. But on Saturday morning, that changed.

“Today was my first day going against Peyton,” he said. “I was doing pretty good until I saw Peyton Manning behind center. I was like, 'Oh, man, that’s Peyton Manning.’ But it’s football, so I didn’t let it get in my mind or anything. I’m going out and just doing my assignment.

“You just have to take all the speed you had in college and use it every play, even running drill to drill.”

Session said Colts coaches spend much of the mini-camp emphasizing to rookies specifics about the Colts’ style. On defense, he said that has meant hearing as much about maximum effort on every play as it has techniques and schemes.

“You finish everything,” Session said. “I’m trying to get a handle on the way they do things here. They run to the ball, run the ball. That’s important to all the coaches. They emphasize that more so than they emphasize the assignments. I definitely have to pick it up even more.”

While most rookies said there was an element of wonder playing with future Hall of Famers most agreed with Session, that that feeling fades quickly.

“You’ve got to get adjusted to the speed of things, the speed of practice,” said Colts rookie cornerback Daymeion Hughes, a third-round selection from California. “Once all the glitz and glamour and meeting people – once all that stuff is over, you’ve just got to get in between the lines and handle your business. At the end of the day, we all work for the Colts and we’re just trying to do a job. That’s how I take it.”

As a cornerback, the first time lining up across from Harrison – an eight-time Pro Bowl selection with it – has “a shock factor,” Hughes said.

“It’s hard not to like, get overwhelmed or excited,” Hughes said. “You just try to focus in. It’s hard. These guys are Hall of Famers. You just try to learn from them, everything they do. You take it as a learning experience.”

Offensive tackle Tony Ugoh, the Colts’ second-round selection last April, said he expects he’ll notice the full transition from college to the NFL in training camp. That’s the first time players will work against one another in pads.

“It’s kind of hard to prejudge,” Ugoh said. “You go 100 percent, but as far as finishing 100 percent, it’s different when you have pads on. Then, it’s all out. Now, you’ve got to keep your head out of things.

“You really can’t get into people like you would if you were in full pads. So, it’s different.”

At other positions, particularly at cornerback and wide receiver, the difference from one level to the next is more about speed – and therefore, more discernible in a no-pads environment.

“You definitely see it now – the speed of the game,” Hughes said. “The blocks are made faster and the wide receivers’ routes, they’re up on your toes faster. It’s faster. Everybody’s fast on the field. You pretty much have to neutralize it by techniques and angles.”

The process, several rookies said, was made easier by the assistance of veteran players. Rookies have been told by Colts coaches to watch and learn from veterans, and veterans are told to lead by example.

Some veterans do more than serve as role models. Ugoh said veteran offensive tackle Tarik Glenn has worked extensively with him the last two days, something that’s a help as a young player trying to learn a new system.

“I’m still learning and taking it in,” Ugoh said. “I’m trying to absorb everything in and take it in. I’m like a sponge, pretty much. I watch to see how they’re doing things and Tarik has helped me out tremendously. I’m pretty much just listening to him and pretty much just following him, doing what he does.”

Said Condren, “The main thing I’m trying to do this weekend is to work on my fundamentals and techniques right now, the stuff they want me to do. All this is right now for me is a learning phase. I’ve pretty much got the concept. It’s just little things I’ve got to work on right now to help get me better.

“Once you’re out there, you’re playing football. It doesn’t make a difference who’s across from you. You have your responsibilities and your assignment and if you do it, it should turn out OK.”