Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Jake Witt looks around during a practice at the team’s training camp in Westfield, Ind., just north of its Indianapolis home base. Before Thursday’s final preseason game, Witt had played in both of the Colts’ preseason games after missing all of last season with an injury. (AP photo)

INDIANAPOLIS — With a win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Jake Witt was part of his first preseason win with the team that drafted him in 2023,

He could not be happier about the experience, since Witt lost the entire 2023 season due to an injury.

So he is really just getting his feet wet this summer, and he is loving every minute of it.

“It feels pretty darn cool,” he said. “It feels rewarding. Obviously, spending a year on IR (injured reserve), taking that year as a learning year, not being able to play in the games or any of that stuff, that full year, just practice, rehab and learning the playbook, I think it was good for me,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I’m able to go out this preseason and play confidently. So I think that’s all I can ask for. It feels pretty nice to be back out on the field.”

He had surgery last season following the hip injury, which can be frustrating for a professional athlete, especially one just beginning his career.

But Witt feels that the experience was actually a positive one for him, comparing it to being a freshman in college at Michigan Tech University in Houghton.

“I think (last) year when I had to get surgery, and I was injured, on injured reserve, I think that year was great just from a learning aspect, because I’m a guy who hadn’t played much football going into the draft, and I was coming from (an NCAA) Division II level, where I played only a year at my position,” he said about his experiences on the gridiron after he transferred to Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

“I think a year like that, where it was almost like a redshirt year in college, I could take it to learn the playbook, kind of watch the veteran players and learn from them, too. I think that was a great year. Obviously, I couldn’t play on the field, but I don’t think, at the end of the day, that’s what I was going to be doing in Year 1 anyways.”

For Witt, whose path to the NFL has not been a traditional one of going to a Big Ten, Southeastern Conference or other similar-sized big-time school, but instead to NMU, having a year to simply see how the game is different at the next level was helpful.

In fact, Witt did not go to college originally for football. He started college at Tech to play basketball, then transferred to Northern after one year. He then sat out two years before joining the Wildcats’ football program as a tight end, a position he played in high school in the eight-player program at Ewen-Trout Creek.

Then the NMU coaching staff moved him to tackle as a senior, mostly out of necessity for the team, and he enjoyed a solid season in the new position prior to the NFL draft.

But it was really his workouts that sold pro teams in him as a prospect — and a project.

“I played receiver and tight end in high school, played the year of basketball (at) Michigan Tech, and then I didn’t play sports for a full two years after that, because I was just a student for a year, and then COVID hit,” Witt said. “I was a (football) tight end again at Northern for a full year, and then switched to (offensive) tackle for a single year.

“So I think when they drafted me, they looked at my film, and saw that I was a raw athlete, and then saw the testing that I put up in my pro day and thought, ‘Hey, this guy’s played very little at the position, but he’s promising in what he has athletically, and I think we can build him, and build him into a player that we want.'”

Witt feels that even though he has not played tackle his whole life, he can learn to do it the right way.

“I think, at the end of the day, that limited experience in a lot of ways might have hurt me, but also might have helped me,” he said about the Colts. “I don’t have any bad habits, and they can kind of build me up how they want in their scheme.”

After sitting on the sidelines last season, Witt is embracing the chance to show the Indy coaching staff that he is worth keeping around for the long-term. He has already seen action in each of the team’s first two preseason games, a loss to the Denver Broncos and the win over the Cardinals.

“I would say it’s been very rewarding to finally be able to go out there and compete in a full training camp,” he said. “Obviously, last year, (I) got injured in the second week of training camp. Uncontrollable things that just happen with the sport of football.

“But this year, it’s been refreshing and rewarding, because we were there all spring and summer. We were in OTAs (organized team activities) with the team, training. We had practices. We were lifting, all that stuff, kind of getting the team together.

“(To) finally be able to go out (at) training camp and in preseason, and play other teams, it’s definitely a rewarding feeling.”

In practice, Witt said he tries to soak up as much knowledge as he can, especially from the Colts’ two starting tackles. The pair, Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith, have helped him understand what he needs to work on to improve.

“They’re both great veteran players, top 10 in their position in the league, and they’re two great guys to learn from,” Witt said. “I’m thankful for them, because they are players that have taken me under their wing and kind of given me tips and tricks that they’ve learned over their careers.

“Other teams (might) have veteran players who don’t want to see younger players succeed, especially in their same position. So, I’m super thankful for them.”

The coaching staff has also been very helpful to Witt as he works to navigate his first preseason.

“Obviously, the offensive line coach and the assistant offensive line coach, those are two great, great guys that were new to the staff with me last year,” he said about O-line coach Tony Sparano Jr. and assistant O-line coach Chris Watt. “The whole offensive staff was new last year.

“I think me being one of their two draft picks in their first year, I think was very special to them, too. They kind of (have) taken me as a project. They help me along and keep me under their wings.

“I think, between them, all the tackles on the roster, and the whole offensive line, they’re very supportive, helpful, and just great guys overall.”

Getting the opportunity to play against the Broncos on Aug. 11 was a very special experience for Witt. Getting the chance to don the same jersey that players like Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Jeff Saturday have worn meant the world to the youngster from a little town in Ontonagon County, Bruce Crossing.

“It’s very special to be a part of a team with this much tradition, this much culture, and a team that’s starting to get back on track to what they were previously,” Witt said. “I think it means a lot to me to be a part of that, to be in a position where the expectation and the accountability level is so high and it makes everybody better, and just being around great guys, great players, that’s all they have in that building.

“They just have a great staff and a great roster filled with not only great players, but they select people that are players, that are great people as well. I think that’s very important, and it means a lot to me to be a part of it, too, because it’s an environment that I think I can thrive in.”

Witt says that during training camp, days often run much longer than regular business days between the workouts, practices and meetings, but he is embracing the entire moment.

“Training camps are long, grueling days,” he said. “They’re 12-, sometimes up to 14-hour days, but that’s the business. They take care of us well. They treat us well. But, it’s definitely some busy days.”

While the days are long, Witt already enjoys one of the perks of the experience — his likeness was included in this year’s Madden 25 video game, which just recently was released.

“We get copies of Madden before they get released, and we got the copy of Madden 24 last year,” Witt said. “Obviously, that was my rookie year, so I’m subbing myself in at left tackle and making tackle-eligible passes. Then, obviously, this year with Madden 25, it’s pretty cool and also a pretty surreal feeling just to see myself in a video game. I’ll be in that video game until the end of time now. So that’s pretty cool.”

Witt said that he is hearing from friends, family and even fans that they are having fun including him in their gameplay on Madden.

“I’ve actually had some videos that got sent to me occasionally from some people that I do know, and some that I don’t know at all, that send me videos of the game that they’re playing,” he said. “A couple people have sent me videos saying, ‘Oh, you scored two touchdowns for me and won me this game.’

“So it is pretty cool when people send that kind of stuff and friends see you in video games. They buy the games to play as you. It is an awesome feeling.”

Looking back on his roots in Bruce Crossing, and his high school experiences at Ewen-Trout Creek, Witt would not trade any of his memories for another path to the NFL.

“I think my upbringing plays a huge part of where I am today,” he said. “It might play into all of it. I think going to Ewen-Trout Creek High School, playing three sports, I think at that time I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty awesome.’ Which it was.

“It was some great memories, all this stuff, but compared to a lot of different high schools, I grew up with very little compared to what they had. So, I think I made do and did well with what I had there.”

Making the move to college was a nice step up for Witt.

“When I went up to the Division II level, it was eye opening to what they had at that level,” he said. “I think I made do, and did well at that level with the resources and everything else we had there. That helped me, too, when I went to the NFL.

“On top of that, I think coming from a small area, there’s nothing better than the community aspect of it, especially from the Upper Peninsula and the western U.P.

“I mean, the community is there. They’re obviously just unmatched, and everybody up there can attest to it. I think that there’s not a better community.

“I might be biased, but I don’t think there’s a better community to grow up into than that. (The) people are, they’re so supportive, especially in this type of adventure.”

For now, Witt just focuses on forcing the Colts to keep him on the active roster. If that does not work out this season, he will take it in stride.

“At the end of the day, for me, I’m trying to do everything that I can to try to get better every day,” he said. “I know, at the end of the day, whether I make the team or whether I don’t, it’s out of my control. So, I’m just leaving everything on the table and going from there.”