In the corner of the Colts' locker room on Thursday, Spencer Shrader stood in front of his locker surrounded by microphones with a grin on his face as he acknowledged how grateful he was to be named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of September.
September was a month of milestones for the second-year kicker, with accomplishments like kicking a walkoff field goal against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 and notching a career-long 52-yard field goal in Week 4.
He was in the middle of explaining how appreciative he was for the Colts to have the faith to put him in those situations when a new, loud voice piped in from the back of the media scrum.
"There he is," the voice said gleefully. "Player of the month!"
The voice belonged to long snapper Luke Rhodes – whose locker, directly next to Shrader's, was inaccessible thanks to all of the cameras and reporters. Rhodes didn't care about that, though, happy to stand back and watch his teammate get his well-earned recognition.
It was Rhodes and punter Rigoberto Sanchez who first found out the news of Shrader's award, and it was their reactions to it that meant more than anything to Shrader.
"Their reactions were awesome, and they were just so excited and so happy," Shrader said. "It made me feel so good to bring those guys joy, and then from that circle onto the team as a whole."
The unit of Shrader, Rhodes and Sanchez is a special one; the specialists are often off on their own during practices, with routines and drills that are often very different from the rest of their teammates. It's in those moments, though, that the three are able to bond both as humans and as players. And in this trio, when one of them succeeds, they all succeed.
"You're just so happy for each other when you succeed," Shrader said. "And so it drives you to work harder and perform for the guys that are continually coming in and putting in effort."
Shrader is the first Colts player to earn Player of the Month honors since running back Jonathan Taylor in November 2021, and the first Colts special teams player to earn the honor since kicker Adam Vinatieri in October 2016.
In the four games the Colts played in September, Shrader converted 13-of-14 field goals and all 12 PATs he attempted, scoring a total of 51 points. He leads the NFL in field goals and total points and has made at least two field goals in every game so far this season. And with the Colts sitting at 3-1 with one of the top offenses in the league, Shrader has proven he can come through in meaningful games.
"I try not to let the game get to me too much, or like the moment or the type of kicking situations, but I think that when you're contributing to the team winning big games, you feel like you're doing your part for sure," Shrader said. "So now it's just a matter of continuing to keep that rolling and move on to the next game and let this be confidence inspiring but also humbling, you know."
Shrader prides himself on being able to stay calm and collected in the most high-stakes environments, so his attitude toward receiving an honor like Player of the Month isn't surprising. It's a product of his hard work and dedication to his craft, which of course is something very special, but it's also no reason to get distracted from the task at hand: winning for his team.
"It was just coming in, working hard every day regardless of the situation, doing my best," Shrader said. "I just need to revert back to that and continue that process and do what I need to do to make the team successful."
