Colts Select Iowa Middle Linebacker Pat Angerer in Second
Round of 2010 NFL Draft
INDIANAPOLIS – A draftnik, Pat Angerer isn't.
Not that he didn't try to follow the 2010 NFL Draft a bit early Thursday evening. He did, but before too long, the middle linebacker from the University of Iowa said he realized something.
This draft thing?
"It was pretty boring," he said.
The telephone call he received shortly after 8 o'clock Friday was exciting enough.
That was the one telling him he had been selected by the Colts.
"I wasn't even watching it," Angerer said shortly after the Colts made him the No. 63 overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, the 31st selection of Friday's second round.
"My agent told me there was about a 35 percent chance I could get taken today. I was just sitting around eating some food. I got the call. This is a dream come true."
Instead, he said he was playing cards and eating spinach dip, smoked wieners and bacon wraps with friends and family when Colts President Bill Polian called him to notify him he would be the Colts' second defensive player selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.
The team selected defensive end Jerry Hughes of Texas Christian with the No. 31 overall selection Thursday.
"He's in the mold of pretty much all the players we have on our team," Polian said of Angerer. "He's a tough, hard-nosed, physical guy.
"To steal a phrase from (Colts Head Coach) Jim Caldwell, 'He's smart, fast and physical."
Polian called Angerer (6-feet-0, 235 pounds) a very similar player to Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett.
"If you like the way Gary plays, you'll like the way Pat plays," Polian said.
Said Caldwell, "He's a guy who also has a lot of range. He can certainly cover the field. He has great anticipation and certainly understands defensive concepts extremely well, so we think he'll be a good fit for us, particularly with some of the things we do.
"Obviously, from a physical standpoint, he does a lot of the same things that Gary does. He's a good fit in that regard."
While the Colts return not only Brackett, a starter since 2005, but also starting weak-side backer Clint Session and starting strong-side backer Philip Wheeler, Polian said he expects Angerer to contribute immediately.
"We'll see," Polian said. "Hopefully, he can come in and play a major role for us from Day One – in the nickel, on special teams."
Brackett, the Colts' defensive captain since 2006, recently signed a contract extension and is entering his eighth NFL season.
"We felt we needed a very quality backup for Gary there," Polian said. "Once you get up in years in this game, injuries sometimes happen. Let's hope they don't. Gary had a great year last year. I hope he has three or four more. This is a player who definitely is going to help our football team. No question about it.
"He was the right guy on the board at that time. We often say, 'Let the board talk to us. It talked loudly and clearly."
Angerer, a two-year starter, registered 258 tackles – 94 solos – earned first-team All-America honors this past season, and was a finalist for the Bronco Nagurski Award. He is the third Iowa player selected in the first or second round of the draft since 2003, with tight end Dallas Clark selected in Round 1 in 2003 and safety Bob Sanders selected in Round 2 in 2004.
"There's some good players coming out of Iowa," he said. "Hopefully, I don't let them down."
Not that that trend – or anything else for that matter – gave Angerer an idea what to expect Friday. He said while he spoke with a Colts scout this week, and while he met with team officials at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, there was nothing in those conversations to indicate extensive interest.
When the Colts called Friday, he said, "I wasn't expecting it. I thought it was somebody messing with me."
Angerer, who began his career as a weak-side linebacker before moving inside, said he will "play wherever they put me," and said he believes he can play the run and pass equally effectively.
"I like to think I can do both," he said. "Obviously, I'm nowhere near where I need to be. I'm sure I'm going to improve and learn a lot from the coaches. . . . It's truly going to be an honor playing for them.
"I'm going to do everything they ask of me. I can't wait to get started."
