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INDIANAPOLISOf the handful of Day 3 draft picks the Colts had in 2020, the last one taken appears to have the best chance to make a Week 1 impression.

Before Jordan Glasgow went from walk-on at the University of Michigan to senior starter at linebacker, he was making his presence felt on 4th down.

It’s that special teams prowess that attracted the Colts to Glasgow, and eventually choosing him with the 213th overall pick.

“We think Jordan Glasgow has got top special teams ability in this league,” Chris Ballard says. “He’ll play linebacker for us, but he’s got a chance to be a really special core special teams player and those are hard to find.”

That’s high praise coming from the team’s general manager for a final day draft pick.

Most picks chosen in the range of Glasgow do not come with much fanfare.

For Glasgow, that’s nothing new.

He was a walk-on at Michigan, who never got a true look on defense until the guy in front of him was ejected from a game due to targeting.

Once Glasgow made that impression on defense, he ended up earning a starting linebacker job as a senior.

That marked the third straight Glasgow brother who entered Michigan as a walk-on, became a starter, and eventually reached the NFL (Ryan-Bengals, Graham-Broncos).

“My parents and grandparents really set us up with that mentality,” Glasgow says. “My parents worked very hard at their jobs to put us into a good situation to go to a good high school, to go to a great college, to be able to take a walk-on spot at the University of Michigan and being able to help us pay for tuition and not be afraid to go to that type of school, both athletically and academically, to be able to chase our dreams. They gave us the opportunity.

“Both my brothers have capitalized on it and I’ve capitalized on it. I hope to continue to take the opportunity that they gave me and run with it.”

When the youngest Glasgow walked into Michigan, he was the 8th safety on the depth chart.

Even when he thought his name was moving up the depth chart early on as a walk-on, new prized recruits would immediately bypass him once fall camp started the next year.

Good news for Glasgow, while his impact defensively at linebacker is unlikely with the Colts, we know full well that Ballard and the Colts will give him a fair shot.

“A lot of teams say no matter where you’re drafted, you have an equal opportunity to compete for a job with someone who was drafted in the first, second, third or fourth round,” Glasgow says. “Even if that isn’t necessarily true and even if there is some preconceived notions with potential position in the draft, I’m used to that kind of preconceived notion. Early on in my college career, I’m used to going through it. I mean I’m used to changing people’s minds about me.

“If someone has a bad opinion about me, I look forward to changing that. I’m just going to try and do the best that I can moving forward.”

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