Colt’s Saturday talks football, life with Owls

Decisions, decisions.

They are made every day, but making the right ones is what's important.

That was the message of Indianapolis Colts All-Pro center Jeff Saturday on Thursday as he spoke to members of the Seymour High School Owls football team as well as students from a weightlifting class.

His visit preceded a stop at the Indiana Bank & Trust Co. branch on West Second Street in Seymour. Saturday is currently the bank's advertising campaign spokesman.

"How many of you are Colts fans?" Saturday asked the team, with a majority raising their hands.

"How good is your football team?" he then asked. They were 4-6.

"How many of you are on the honor roll?" he asked, with a good majority raising their hands. That impressed Saturday.

The latter two questions were a big part of Saturday's session with the students. He said while football is not all about winning, excelling in life should always be a focus.

"Understand where you are in life," Saturday said. "At your age and all the decisions you are making, it impacts you and you alone."

Students had an opportunity to ask questions. For those doing that, Saturday tossed them an autographed football.

One student asked about Saturday's involvement with sports. He said in high school he played

baseball, soccer, wrestling and football. He went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned many accolades in football and academics.

"Coming out of college, I was the number three-ranked center in college football," Saturday said, as that's where football analyst Mel Kiper ranked him.

After being cut by the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday was out of football for nine months. But when Colts owner Bill Polian called Saturday in 1998, he was given the opportunity of a lifetime: to join the Colts.

"I had just made the team, and Jim Mora was the coach," Saturday said of his first NFL game. "Just being dressed in a Colts uniform, and just to feel the energy coming out of the tunnel, I felt like I kind of arrived when I came onto the field."

His family from Atlanta was also in attendance, so that made his first game that much more special. Plus, he was playing with star quarterback Peyton Manning.

"He approaches the game like a lineman," Saturday said of Manning. "He works out hard...he watches a lot of game tapes. That's what I look at in a good quarterback. He doesn't second-guess himself. What he's done for me is he's made sure my preparation is always right."

Coach Tony Dungy is also good to work with, Saturday said, as he sets rules for the players, such as not drinking and driving or getting involved with violence or drugs. Dungy is also a very faith-based person. Those things have been positive for the Colts.

Of being in the spotlight after winning the 2006 Super Bowl, Saturday said, "It was a lot of fun. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Students also asked about the current positive and negative news with the Colts. The positive is that they recently re-signed running back Dominic Rhodes.

"I'm really excited about that," Saturday said of Rhodes. "He's a lot of fun to play with, and he was a big help for us two years ago. He gives defenses a hard time. He's going to be a good addition just so he stays on the task at hand."

The negative news is an investigation of a shooting outside of a Philadelphia bar owned by Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

"I don't know the final results," Saturday said. "(Harrison) told us he's not part of it. He was in a place he shouldn't be in. He's embarrassed about it."

Saturday chose to look at the good in Harrison, who is normally a laid-back, reserved person.
 
"Perception, a lot of times, is reality," Saturday said.

Overall, the students and Coach Jeff Richey were glad to have Saturday visit the school.

Thorben Quast, a junior German exchange student at SHS who is in the weightlifting class, said he's used to seeing Saturday on TV. But seeing him in person, and hearing his message, made it even better.

"It was pretty helpful to get advice from an NFL player on how to work out and give your best in everything and get good grades," Quast said.

Senior Mitch Atchison has played for the Owls for two years as a cornerback. He said he's been a Colts fan "ever since I've known about football."

"It's a great experience having a great football player come talk to us on everyday decisions in life," Atchison said. "He's helping out all the kids who need someone to look up to and who just need help with making the right decisions. With him talking about moral issues, it's the best advice to give to younger kids out here."

Richey said his goal as a coach is to ensure the students appreciate football and those who support it, and that they do the right things in school, football and in life.

"That's why we work so hard getting kids out to do community service, and with their grades, we do a lot of things with that," Richey said. "We have study tables during the season with a tutor. We're doing so many other things with our kids that are good quality things."

Saturday was a good person to deliver a good message, Richey said.

"You understand he's a quality individual, and in his case, he's always been that way," Richey said. "It's nice for the kids to see who they are and that they're real people, and how it's important to make good choices."