'I'm out there trying to play fast': Colts safety Nick Cross underlines major focus heading into 2023 NFL season 

Rookies who successfully transition from the college game to the NFL usually have a few growing pains.

The game is faster, it’s physically more demanding and defensive playbooks -- containing exotic schemes, complex play calls and infinite positional alignments – have been the unfortunate undoing of many first-year players.

So, last season, when Indianapolis Colts rookie safety Nick Cross kept showing up in a positive way when the Indianapolis defensive coaches viewed one solid training camp practice tape after the other, those who make personnel decisions in “Colts Land” were deliriously excited.

Observers who had first-hand knowledge of Cross during the initial days of training camp when the pads went on all said the former University of Maryland standout was making a ton of flash plays.

Those plays and his solid rookie preseason earned Cross a starting spot at safety in Indianapolis’ defensive backfield.

All seemed right with the world.

Cross had earned a starting spot and signed a four-year contract worth north of $5 million dollars.

Colts fans were excited.

Sports talk radio shows all over Indianapolis were on fire discussing the rangy, fast and athletic safety that team general manager Chris Ballard traded back into the third round to select.

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Nick Cross' 2022 season was somewhat of a roller coaster

Cross, who certainly did his part during training camp to positively aid his own cause, was arguably a prime beneficiary of extra reps with the sudden and surprising retirement of veteran safety Khari Willis. Willis’ departure, along with a sidelined Rodney McLeod to begin the club’s 2022 training camp, allowed Cross and other members of the secondary to show the coaches what they were capable of.

In NFL Week 1, Cross played all 70 defensive snaps in a 20-20 tie against the Houston Texans and 46 in a 24-0 shutout loss at Jacksonville in Week 2.

Cross was moved to the bench in Week 3 in favor of the veteran McLeod.

At the time, Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said the move was not made because of anything Cross did, just that the Colts needed experienced defensive backs for the type of defense the team wanted to run against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Colts were one of the few teams to defeat the Chiefs during the regular season – stunning Kansas City 20-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in NFL Week 3.

Cross, a starter for the first two games, played just six combined snaps in the final 16 games of the 2022 season, but found other ways to positively impact his team.

By mid-October, the Colts transitioned Cross into a special teams ace, where he led the team with 10 special teams tackles while his 90.0 Pro Football Focus special teams grade was also tops on the team.

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Notes from Colts training camp: Nick Cross has high hopes for new era

Fast forward to Colts’ training camp 2023.

Sportskeeda caught up with the low-key and super-polite Cross after Wednesday’s practice. When asked what transpired last season, Cross said the entire year was a tremendous learning experience for him.

“I learned that everyone has to run their own race and everyone has to follow their own path,” Cross said. “I have a much better understanding of our scheme this year because of what I went through last year as far as the calls, the verbiage and what we are doing. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

There is no trace of anger, bitterness or any kind of ill will at anyone connected to the Colts when Cross speaks.

“I’m out there trying to play fast, and so far, it’s all going well,” Cross said. “You have to put in the work, you have to be disciplined and you’ve got to make sure you have an understanding of what’s going on. That’s what I am focusing on.”

By all accounts, Cross is once again having another solid training camp which means he’s either going to crack Indianapolis’ starting lineup or he is destined to be a solid contributor to the defense this season.

“Well, what we’ve got to do now with some of these younger guys that are making plays with the twos and threes, is to get them with the ones, and see how real it is,” Bradley said.

He added that Cross was brought back into the fold because of Julian Blackmon's injury and he’s since been playing with the ones.

"There’s no break for him, it’s every day we’re watching him and it feels like when he knows that, he plays more consistently. So, signs are trending in the right direction for him as a guy that we trust.”

The Colts open the 2023 NFL regular season at home on September 10 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium at 1 pm.