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INDIANAPOLIS – Pierre Desir saw the commitment, that the Colts often laud, pretty early on.
The integration between rookies and veterans was still just a few days old in the offseason program, but there was nothing timid about the Colts top draft pick in 2019.
Actions are greater than words and Desir noticed how Rock Ya-Sin was going about his business.
“We had a meeting and he was walking in there 10 minutes early,” Desir begins about Ya-Sin. “He had his playbook, had his pen and his paper and he was getting ready. I was like, ‘Hey man, what are you doing? You’ve got some time, you can get some water, some snacks.’ He was like, ‘No, I am just getting ready.’
“It’s more of just his actions and just how he carries himself. He really wants to be a true professional and he wants to attack his opportunity.”
The opportunity the Colts gave Ya-Sin came with the 34th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
With the Colts weighing more trade offers to move back early on Friday night, Chris Ballard looked around his room for confirmation, as the second round approached.
“He’s a DNA guy,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said of Ya-Sin.
Ballard then looked over to his go-to character man in Brian Decker.
Decker acknowledged that Ya-Sin stood for everything the Colts want to be about.
“We think he changes the culture and helps the room,” Ballard said about his new cornerback as the card was being turned in to make the pick.
Early in OTAs, Ya-Sin has recorded a couple of interceptions while running with the second team.
Growth for any rookie is a must and it’s why the Colts put such a strong emphasis on the character trait.
Even in Ya-Sin’s first few weeks of NFL practice, the coaching staff is noticing that development.
“He’s long, tough, consistent,” Frank Reich says of the early impressions on Ya-Sin. “When he gets beat, play the next play. He’s a high character guy. He understands the techniques that we are asking him to play.
“You can see him progressing. I felt the first week he was a little bit more handsy, a little bit more grabby and as time has gone on you can see the confidence coming with the way he is playing the technique.”
