July 10, 2025 • 20 mins
JJ Stankevitz sits down with Spencer Shrader to get inside how the second-year Colts kicker stays mentally focused during games – with an assist from a Roman Emperor – and what he's working on heading into a training camp competition this year. Shrader also explains his unique journey to kicking in the NFL, which nearly led him to play another sport in another country. JJ then opens up The Colts Show Mailbag for a dive into what the Colts' offensive line could look like in 2025.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Colts fans, I'm JJ Sakovitz. Welcome in to another
episode of The Colt Show in Indianapolis. Colts Podcast. Really
excited to bring you today's episode. After we were off
to the week of the fourth, I had a chance
to sit down with Colts kicker Spencer Schrader about a
month ago. We had a chance to talk about quite
a few things, including his kicking process and also his
(00:20):
almost soccer career, his business ventures. He's a fascinating person.
Really excited to bring this to you. Spencer's going to
be competing during training camp with undrafted rookie Medix Traquillo
to be the Colts kicker, so really interested in that.
Next week on the Colt Show, We're going to have
a full training camp preview that I did with Lara Overton.
It is lengthy, it is meaty, it is interesting. Hopefully
(00:42):
you guys enjoy that comes out a week from today
on Thursday the seventeenth. All Right, one piece of or outdated,
I should say information is during the interview I had
with Spencer, I believe he referred to his girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
That girlfriend is knows fiance.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So shout out to Spencer and US Women's new national
team midfielder Corbin Albert. I'm getting engaged. Congratulations to them both. Anyways,
let's get to my chat with Spencer Trader right now
here on the Cult Show. All right, it is my
pleasure to be back here on The Colt Show with
Kicker Spencer Schrader. Spencer, we are taping this during Veteran
Mini camp in June. This episode's coming out in July,
(01:19):
a couple weeks before training camp. What excites you about
the opportunity ahead of you up at Grand Park in
training camp with a chance to compete to win the
Colts Kicker job.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, it was really cool for me to be back
here again because I got a chance to be here
last year, and I feel like last year was such
a growth face for me. You know, it was like
wide eyes, you know, it's the first time I'm going
through that. And so this year it's like, Okay, you've
been here before. Can you kind of cement yourself a
little bit more? Can we up the professionalism? Can we
refine things here and there? So it's just the journey
of being a pro and trying to get a little
(01:50):
bit better. But training camp here is so well done
with the amount of people that they invite and how
fun they make it for the community. It's just going
to be a really good time getting out there with
the teammates.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
For a For you, how is that process of refining
what you do? Like, what do you do to consistently
work on refining your procedure, your kicks, just whatever it
might be.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I think I heard a really good quote from a
coach once and they said, how you do anything is
how you do everything. And so, like we were talking
before about how kicking is actually very simple art. There's
not much to it, and so you really have to
try to focus on on the details and other elements
of life because it all plays together. And I'm very
blessed because the people that I have here to learn from,
like Luke and Rego, my teammates and the specialist room
(02:35):
are really good demonstrators of that. Come into work every
single day, approaching your rehab right, your nutrition right, your
sleep right, you're working out right. All of that plays
into your success on the field at the end of
the day, because honestly, it's very simple, you know, kicking
a football through two yell at posts. But all of
that is going to play into your long term success
and so I really think about, Okay, am I doing
(02:56):
the things that it takes to be successful kicking a ball?
But am I doing everything else right too? Because that's
honestly a bigger piece at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
How have you learned to kind of clear your mind,
whether it's after a make, after a miss, knowing that
you know your job is to go out there, hit
the ball through the uprights, have a good kickoff. You're
on the field for seven eight times, you know, seven
eight plays a game, but those ones are all pressure packed.
What do you do to start of clear your mind?
That's a really good question.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
It's something that I had to figure out probably a
little bit later in my journey because I played soccer
before and so the mentality is different. And so what
I realized is I had to rely on my faith
more in things like stoicism to keep things in perspective.
It's like it's so individualized. You're on the field for
one play, like you said, and then you're off and
you have to be able to mentally reset. And so
(03:42):
I started studying stoicism. I got deeper in my faith
as I transitioned to the NFL, and so that's helped
me to kind of balance everything, keep things in perspective,
not get my identity caught up in football, and then
ultimately that puts me in a better headspace come practice time,
come game time, when it's time to compete.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Explain stoicism to me.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Stoicism would be being able to keep things in perspective, right.
So it was popularized bar Marcus Aurelius, who was a
Roman emperor, the last of the five good Roman emperors,
And it's really about how do I balance and deal
with obstacles in my life and keep things in perspective.
And so one of his analogies is like life's like
a river, and you're gonna have obstacles, right, You're gonna
have missus. You're gonna have things that you can't control
(04:22):
that are plopped in the middle of the river. But
what do you do. It's you flow into it, you
flow around it, and you keep right on going. And
so it's kind of the art of not letting the
small things impact you, not letting the misses impact you,
not letting the negatives impact you, but viewing those obstacles
as opportunities instead and looking at them as a positive.
And so there's really cool authors that have written about it,
(04:44):
and so I just kind of try to feed myself
that information day by day, maybe in little chunks.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It just kind of keeps me in the right mental space.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
How did that benefit you as you went from the
Colts to being released and then re signed by the
Colts to the Chiefs to the Jets, or the Jets
to the Chiefs. Excuse me last year, which you know,
that's your rookie year in the NFL and you're you're
on quite a whirlwind, but you were able to succeed
through it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Did that play into it? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I think what I did a good job of last
year was viewing everything as a blessing, Like, Wow, how
cool is it that I get to show up underrafted
free agent to the Colts and get a chance to
be here and have access to the facilities and compete
on the field. And then you have to have something
that centers you and keeps you grounded through those highs
and lows, because there is a lot that happens.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
There are cuts that happen, there's practice.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Squads, elevations, injuries, getting poached to another team, and if
you let your emotions ride the highs and lows you're
never gonna have balance, and so just understanding like, hey,
this is all.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
A blessing, this is all a gift.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
At the end of the day, I'm just so privileged
to even be here, Like why would I view these
things as a negative? And so keeping that in mind
as you go through those ventures is super important. And
that's why it does take time off the field, getting
into the Bible, reading your book, reading stoicism, talking with teammates,
and having authentic conversations with family as your grounding mechanism
to keep you centered through all those highs and lows.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I was gonna say, this sounds like this is also
helping you like off the field.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Oh no, no, yes, very much.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So that this is like probably just like a good
life lesson that you're getting at a young age.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And I think it helped too because I was pretty
late to football, so I spent time playing soccer, tennis.
I have a private training company with my sister. I
love to invest in real estate and the index funds,
and so I have these other pieces of my life
that really helped me keep football in perspective at the
end of the day.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, so let's talk about your soccer career because I
read an article that Pete Sampson wrote in The Athletic
about how you were like a broken ankle away from
potentially playing soccer in Brazil.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yes, so after I graduated high school, I went overseas
and played soccer in Brazil. In Canada, I played for
Fair Viarius and Grimeo South Carlos, which are two professional
clubs in Brazil. And when I first got there, I
was training and I fractured my ankle, and so I
was pretty upset about it because because this was my
three month try out basically to see if I was
going to make it as a professional, and I have
(07:05):
that injury right when I get there. But really it
opened up an opportunity to just meet some incredible people
and really ingrain myself in the culture. And so I
started a blog and I made, you know, positive things
from that. And then I still got time after i'd
healed to train with Feraviarius and Greenmeo saw Carlos and
experience that didn't get a professional contract. But then what
ended up happening was the move into my football career,
(07:26):
which I think is God's planned for me. And so
you see in hindsight how everything's interconnected and how it
plays out into the greater story. But yeah, lots of
little ups and downs along the road, for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
How did you get noticed by these Brazilian soccer clubs?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
So I had a foreign exchange student that played on
my high school team, Breno Piccolo, and then his family
had some training complexes in Brazil, and one night I
was telling him like, man, I.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Really want to play pro soccer. I'm very passionate about it.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I just don't know how to start, you know, I
don't know how to get recognized by these clubs. And
he's like, oh man, He's like, come stay with me
and my family in Brazil. We can get you a
three month visa. You can train at our common plexus
and my dad will set up some tryouts for you.
And so I think that conversation was at like nine
pm at night. We were playing ping pong in my
garage and I walk in the house and I tell
my parents I was going to Brazil and they're like, okay, yeah,
(08:12):
we're support. We support you to go for it. And
so it was really like just a split second decision.
And I had about five months to train to get
ready for that process. But That's kind of how I
live life, as I see opportunities and I try to
be pretty risk tallerant, you know, just go after things.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yes, did you have opportunities to play college soccer.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
In stance, Yeah, quite a few opportunities to play college soccer,
But it wasn't ever something that I was super passionate about.
I really wanted to go the pro route first, and
I was running other businesses at the time, so I
was balancing, Hey, do I just go full entrepreneur, run
the private training company, stay with these investments.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Do I want to play college soccer?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And then when I was presented with the opportunity to
play football, I was thinking about Tim Tebow. He's always
been a big role model of mine. Like, man, here's
a guy who played football at the highest level, but
he used it as a stage to share his faith
and to be a philanthropist and work on other ventures.
And so that's what excited me about football. It was new,
it was exciting. I felt like I could run my
(09:05):
businesses at the same time that I could still compete
and try to you know, get to the you know,
reach my athletic potential.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Okay, so you kind of dropped it in there that
you had businesses plural as a teenager.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
M HM, tell me about those. I grew up home schooled.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
I think it was more of a non traditional educational route,
and so my parents were big on learning by doing,
and so when I was sixteen, I started a private
training company.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
It really was nothing big at first.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
It was just going out too the fields and training
kids in the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
But I was professional and I did my best.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
I'd create PDFs and I'd communicate with the parents, and
that really helped me to learn those business skills at
a very young age. And so then I kept running
that all throughout high school and now my sister handles
it pretty much full time, doesn't phenomenal job with it.
And then I've always been interested in technology as well,
and so I mentioned when I went over to Brazil,
I started a blog and through that process I got
a little bit of knowledge in the website design space,
(09:55):
creating logos, creating brands. And so I worked in the
technology space and had a little business doing some salesforce
implementation and some brand design, and it was just something
I would do, you know, with free time here and there.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So it was the technology.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
It was the private training, and then I kind of
did that while I was, you know, playing.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Sports all the way up.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I have to imagine the one year you spent at
Notre Dame was probably pretty valuable then for someone who's
interested in business. I read you got connected with Tom
Mendoza a little bit there. What was that experience like,
not just as a football we're not even talking about
the football.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Side of it now, but well just all in company,
Like Notre Dame was the place for me, Like everything
that I had dreamed of Notre Dame being it was.
I just felt like, listen, I have one year to
just maximize my experience here from a football perspective, but
also an off the field perspective with the network and
tapping into an alumni base that is just legendary and
world renowned. And so I went up there and I
(10:48):
had the opportunity to meet so many cool people through football,
but our lasting relationships that will impact me and help
me in the business world that really had nothing to
do with my football career, but were made possile because
I went to Notre Dame and got a chance to
play on that awesome field.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So it's all interconnected. The like going to Notre Dame
was kind of a serendipitous thing, you know. I know
you've talked about it in the media where Brian Mason,
who's now the Colts special teams coordinator, was the one
who recruited you there as a grad transfer and then
he comes here to the Colts and you didn't really
actually overlap with him, but now you're here. I also
read that you have a number of family members who
(11:24):
are Notre Dame fans. So yeah, like that all just
feels like that was like, like you said, it was
the place for you to be, and that's just that's
a really cool thing is that doesn't always happen at
the college level.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, it feels like home.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And I don't know, Mace, I can't either either I
can't get away from him or he can't get away
from me.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
But he recruited me to Notre Dame and then ended
up coming to the Colts.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
But he told me, he's like, man, you're a Notre
Dame guy, like you gotta stay here. He's like, you're
gonna have an amazing experience. And so through that process,
even though it was brief during the time that he
recruited me before he left. I built a lot of trust,
you know, back and forth, and I felt like he
had my best interest in mind. So then when I was,
you know, choosing what team to go and to free
agency because you have multiple choices, I was like, man,
(12:04):
how cool would it be to go back to Indy
or stay in Indy, you know, coming from Notre Dame,
be with Mace again. I know that he has my
best interest in mind. And then wherever God takes me,
he takes me. And so that's exactly what happened. I
came here, had an amazing experience, learned from some of
the best in the business, and then got the chance
to go to New York and then the Chiefs. And
then when I went into free agency again, I was like, ah,
(12:26):
I got some unfinished business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I gotta go back. What was that experience like for you.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Kicking at Lucas Oil Stadium in that Week one opener? Like,
I know you talked about your process and you know,
stoicism and not making it bigger than it might be.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
But it's Week one of the NFL season.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
You're stepping in from that gay in that game, and
you've got to make a couple of pats.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
What sort of just kind of centered you in that
as well.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I think in moments like that, you're never truly prepared,
and so keeping it in perspective and understanding that everyone
one's going through the same emotions and a lot of
people are fighting the same battles that you are really helps.
And so it's like, Man, I went from not knowing
if I'd have a chance in the NFL to start
in the season opener, but I'm here and i gotta
go out there and i gotta play. And there's a
(13:14):
lot of other people that are dealing with this as well,
and so you just have to keep like pulling yourself
back because your mind wants to wander and your emotions
want to creep in. So the stress or the fear,
the anxiety wants to come in. But you got to
fill that space with something else. And so if you
fill it with gratefulness, and you fill it with positivity,
and you fill it with you know, faith, there's not
(13:34):
as much room for those other emotions to creep in.
And so that's something I'm very proactive in is trying
to stay in my Bible before the games, trying to
keep my mental space filled with positive things and not
let the fear of the uncertainty and the doubt creep
in because there's no space for it.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Good deal, Spencer Schrader, appreciate your time in. We'll see
up a grand park for training camp in a couple weeks.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
All right, back here on the Cult Show, it's time
for the Cults Show mail Bag. Remember, you can submit
your questions on Colts dot com slash mailbag. You can
get them at me on Instagram, on x whatever social
media platform you want. I might even check my LinkedIn
messages whatever, or you can drop them in the YouTube
comments on this episode. All right, today's question comes from
(14:16):
Harold Miller from Bedford, Indiana. Do you see the Colts
offensive line holding up for our quarterbacks? And simple question,
but I wanted to take this chance to talk about
the line because there are two major departures on it,
right and Ryan Kelly and Will Fryes, both who signed
with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency. The Colts haven't
(14:37):
had like pretty that level of significant opening on their
offensive line in a couple of years. But I do
want to before we get into that, I want to
talk about the rest of the line. Because I feel
like we don't talk about the left side of the
Colts offensive line enough and how good it is. It's
just maybe, yeah, they'll be fine. You got Quentin Nelson,
he's a pro bowler. You got Bernard Ryman, he's a
(14:57):
really good player. Bernard Ryman has been consistently a really
good NFL left tackle for the last couple of years.
Like your baseline from him is that you're gonna get
good pass protection. And maybe there's still some upside with
him given his kind of relative lack of experience he
didn't start playing tackle until halfway through his college career.
(15:17):
But his PFF passlo grades in the last two years
he was at eighty one point three and twenty twenty
three eighty two point zero in twenty twenty four, those
both ranked in the top fifteen among tackles. So baseline again,
good player. You need guys like Bernard Ryman on your
line who you can just say that guy's gonna be good.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
We don't have to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Maybe he's got some more upside, but we trust him,
especially at the left tackle position. Quent Nelson, we know
he's great. Like obviously, everyone who watches Colts Football knows
Quintin Nelson is one of the best offensive linemen in
the NFL full stop. Last year he was he had
the fourth highest Pro Football Focused pass block grade among guards.
You're getting that Pro Bowl and all Pro level play,
(15:58):
but you're also getting Durability hasn't missed a game since
twenty twenty one. That stretch of games I think it
was four that year are the only games he's ever
missed in his entire career. So again, you're getting those
two guys. Just wanted to give him a bit of
a shout out and that maybe we don't talk about
them enough and how good they are. On the right side,
you are getting Braiden Smith back. You know, obviously he
went through what he went through last year with some
(16:20):
significant mental health issues. All reports have been very positive
about him and his ability to come back and be
the Braiden Smith that I think we got to know
over the last couple of years in terms of how
he can block as a he's a great run blocker,
like he consistently ranks among the top tackles in run
blocking by Pro Football Focus, and he's been consistent as
(16:40):
a good right tackle in the NFL as well. His
PFF pass block grade anywhere from usually kind of the
mid seventies, which, again that's good. That is a good
player right there. Oline's week link system. He is not
a weak link as long as he is able to
be on the field. That's the thing with Braden Smith
is he has missed some games over the last couple
of years, whether it's been due to injury or obviously
(17:01):
last year when he went on the non football illness list.
So again, good player. Right there, two really good players
on the left side. So you're looking at center and
right guard is kind of the two positions that like
where where do those two positions go? And how good
can they be? With Tannerbordalini or Danny Pinter starting at
(17:24):
center and then probably mackinsal this starting at right guard.
Those guys are gonna have to earn it durning training
camp and we'll sort it out there. You know, Tanner
Bordalini last year did some good things. In two hundred
and eleven pass blocking snaps, two hundred and ten of
which were at center. He did not allow a sack.
Per Pro Football Focus, He's wonted ten centers to play
at least two hundred pass blocking snaps and not allow
(17:45):
a sack last year, so that's good run blocking matters here.
You know, he's got some upside there, as does the
vision and ability to make calls of the line. I
think that's where Danny Pinter kind of comes in. Pinter
being a veteran drafted in twenty twenty, he's been around
quite a bit.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
The Colts love this guy.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
They brought him back for the last couple of years
for you know, for a reason, right like because they
think he can play. So that's going to be a
really interesting camp battle. Lara and I are going to
get into that one on next on next week's podcast
previewing training camp. And then you know, right guard Macknzalbez
has not played right guard in the NFL outside of
I think one snap last year, and he was a
(18:22):
tackle at pitt But the Colts drafted Gonzalez in the
third round in twenty twenty four with the thought that
this guy would have that tackle guard flexibility and he
could kick inside to guard. I think you see more
guys make the college tackle to NFL guard transition than
the reverse, which oddly enough is Braden Smith, who was
(18:43):
a college guard wound up playing tackle in the NFL
and playing it really well, so we'll see. I mean, look,
O line's a weak link system, and if one of
these guys, one of these positions turns into a link
weak link, you can expect teams are going to attack it.
But what based on what we know about Tony Sprono
Junior or the Culto Wine coach, I don't expect I
think any of these guys to be a week link.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
I think you're gonna see.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Growth and development from whoever's your starting center, and then
you know ideal lincoinsolves at right guard this season. So
to answer Harold's question, I do see the offensive line
holding up for Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones, whoever the
quarterback is going to be. We got into all of
that on next week's podcast, which is a full training
camp preview I did with Lara Overton. We got in
(19:28):
depth about the quarterback competition, about a bunch of other
competitions down the roster, about the rookies, about our camp
breakout stars. We answered a question about underrated position groups.
So really good stuff. Get your questions in for the
Colt Show Mailbag at colts dot com slash Mailbag on
social media as well. I'll be answering those on next
(19:49):
week's podcast and then also on colts dot com in
the weekly Coult Show Mailbag. All right, that's gonna do
it for this week's episode. Remember to rate, review and
subscribe to us here on Indian App Colts Podcast. We
got a lot of good stuff coming for you once
training camp starts in less than two weeks.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Up at Grand Park.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
You can go to Colts dot com slash Camp to
get your tickets. Talk to you next week for a
full training camp preview.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So long
Hey, Colts fans, I'm JJ Sakovitz. Welcome in to another
episode of The Colt Show in Indianapolis. Colts Podcast. Really
excited to bring you today's episode. After we were off
to the week of the fourth, I had a chance
to sit down with Colts kicker Spencer Schrader about a
month ago. We had a chance to talk about quite
a few things, including his kicking process and also his
(00:20):
almost soccer career, his business ventures. He's a fascinating person.
Really excited to bring this to you. Spencer's going to
be competing during training camp with undrafted rookie Medix Traquillo
to be the Colts kicker, so really interested in that.
Next week on the Colt Show, We're going to have
a full training camp preview that I did with Lara Overton.
It is lengthy, it is meaty, it is interesting. Hopefully
(00:42):
you guys enjoy that comes out a week from today
on Thursday the seventeenth. All Right, one piece of or outdated,
I should say information is during the interview I had
with Spencer, I believe he referred to his girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
That girlfriend is knows fiance.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So shout out to Spencer and US Women's new national
team midfielder Corbin Albert. I'm getting engaged. Congratulations to them both. Anyways,
let's get to my chat with Spencer Trader right now
here on the Cult Show. All right, it is my
pleasure to be back here on The Colt Show with
Kicker Spencer Schrader. Spencer, we are taping this during Veteran
Mini camp in June. This episode's coming out in July,
(01:19):
a couple weeks before training camp. What excites you about
the opportunity ahead of you up at Grand Park in
training camp with a chance to compete to win the
Colts Kicker job.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, it was really cool for me to be back
here again because I got a chance to be here
last year, and I feel like last year was such
a growth face for me. You know, it was like
wide eyes, you know, it's the first time I'm going
through that. And so this year it's like, Okay, you've
been here before. Can you kind of cement yourself a
little bit more? Can we up the professionalism? Can we
refine things here and there? So it's just the journey
of being a pro and trying to get a little
(01:50):
bit better. But training camp here is so well done
with the amount of people that they invite and how
fun they make it for the community. It's just going
to be a really good time getting out there with
the teammates.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
For a For you, how is that process of refining
what you do? Like, what do you do to consistently
work on refining your procedure, your kicks, just whatever it
might be.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I think I heard a really good quote from a
coach once and they said, how you do anything is
how you do everything. And so, like we were talking
before about how kicking is actually very simple art. There's
not much to it, and so you really have to
try to focus on on the details and other elements
of life because it all plays together. And I'm very
blessed because the people that I have here to learn from,
like Luke and Rego, my teammates and the specialist room
(02:35):
are really good demonstrators of that. Come into work every
single day, approaching your rehab right, your nutrition right, your
sleep right, you're working out right. All of that plays
into your success on the field at the end of
the day, because honestly, it's very simple, you know, kicking
a football through two yell at posts. But all of
that is going to play into your long term success
and so I really think about, Okay, am I doing
(02:56):
the things that it takes to be successful kicking a ball?
But am I doing everything else right too? Because that's
honestly a bigger piece at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
How have you learned to kind of clear your mind,
whether it's after a make, after a miss, knowing that
you know your job is to go out there, hit
the ball through the uprights, have a good kickoff. You're
on the field for seven eight times, you know, seven
eight plays a game, but those ones are all pressure packed.
What do you do to start of clear your mind?
That's a really good question.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
It's something that I had to figure out probably a
little bit later in my journey because I played soccer
before and so the mentality is different. And so what
I realized is I had to rely on my faith
more in things like stoicism to keep things in perspective.
It's like it's so individualized. You're on the field for
one play, like you said, and then you're off and
you have to be able to mentally reset. And so
(03:42):
I started studying stoicism. I got deeper in my faith
as I transitioned to the NFL, and so that's helped
me to kind of balance everything, keep things in perspective,
not get my identity caught up in football, and then
ultimately that puts me in a better headspace come practice time,
come game time, when it's time to compete.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Explain stoicism to me.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Stoicism would be being able to keep things in perspective, right.
So it was popularized bar Marcus Aurelius, who was a
Roman emperor, the last of the five good Roman emperors,
And it's really about how do I balance and deal
with obstacles in my life and keep things in perspective.
And so one of his analogies is like life's like
a river, and you're gonna have obstacles, right, You're gonna
have missus. You're gonna have things that you can't control
(04:22):
that are plopped in the middle of the river. But
what do you do. It's you flow into it, you
flow around it, and you keep right on going. And
so it's kind of the art of not letting the
small things impact you, not letting the misses impact you,
not letting the negatives impact you, but viewing those obstacles
as opportunities instead and looking at them as a positive.
And so there's really cool authors that have written about it,
(04:44):
and so I just kind of try to feed myself
that information day by day, maybe in little chunks.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It just kind of keeps me in the right mental space.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
How did that benefit you as you went from the
Colts to being released and then re signed by the
Colts to the Chiefs to the Jets, or the Jets
to the Chiefs. Excuse me last year, which you know,
that's your rookie year in the NFL and you're you're
on quite a whirlwind, but you were able to succeed
through it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Did that play into it? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I think what I did a good job of last
year was viewing everything as a blessing, Like, Wow, how
cool is it that I get to show up underrafted
free agent to the Colts and get a chance to
be here and have access to the facilities and compete
on the field. And then you have to have something
that centers you and keeps you grounded through those highs
and lows, because there is a lot that happens.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
There are cuts that happen, there's practice.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Squads, elevations, injuries, getting poached to another team, and if
you let your emotions ride the highs and lows you're
never gonna have balance, and so just understanding like, hey,
this is all.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
A blessing, this is all a gift.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
At the end of the day, I'm just so privileged
to even be here, Like why would I view these
things as a negative? And so keeping that in mind
as you go through those ventures is super important. And
that's why it does take time off the field, getting
into the Bible, reading your book, reading stoicism, talking with teammates,
and having authentic conversations with family as your grounding mechanism
to keep you centered through all those highs and lows.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I was gonna say, this sounds like this is also
helping you like off the field.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Oh no, no, yes, very much.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So that this is like probably just like a good
life lesson that you're getting at a young age.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And I think it helped too because I was pretty
late to football, so I spent time playing soccer, tennis.
I have a private training company with my sister. I
love to invest in real estate and the index funds,
and so I have these other pieces of my life
that really helped me keep football in perspective at the
end of the day.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, so let's talk about your soccer career because I
read an article that Pete Sampson wrote in The Athletic
about how you were like a broken ankle away from
potentially playing soccer in Brazil.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yes, so after I graduated high school, I went overseas
and played soccer in Brazil. In Canada, I played for
Fair Viarius and Grimeo South Carlos, which are two professional
clubs in Brazil. And when I first got there, I
was training and I fractured my ankle, and so I
was pretty upset about it because because this was my
three month try out basically to see if I was
going to make it as a professional, and I have
(07:05):
that injury right when I get there. But really it
opened up an opportunity to just meet some incredible people
and really ingrain myself in the culture. And so I
started a blog and I made, you know, positive things
from that. And then I still got time after i'd
healed to train with Feraviarius and Greenmeo saw Carlos and
experience that didn't get a professional contract. But then what
ended up happening was the move into my football career,
(07:26):
which I think is God's planned for me. And so
you see in hindsight how everything's interconnected and how it
plays out into the greater story. But yeah, lots of
little ups and downs along the road, for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
How did you get noticed by these Brazilian soccer clubs?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
So I had a foreign exchange student that played on
my high school team, Breno Piccolo, and then his family
had some training complexes in Brazil, and one night I
was telling him like, man, I.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Really want to play pro soccer. I'm very passionate about it.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I just don't know how to start, you know, I
don't know how to get recognized by these clubs. And
he's like, oh man, He's like, come stay with me
and my family in Brazil. We can get you a
three month visa. You can train at our common plexus
and my dad will set up some tryouts for you.
And so I think that conversation was at like nine
pm at night. We were playing ping pong in my
garage and I walk in the house and I tell
my parents I was going to Brazil and they're like, okay, yeah,
(08:12):
we're support. We support you to go for it. And
so it was really like just a split second decision.
And I had about five months to train to get
ready for that process. But That's kind of how I
live life, as I see opportunities and I try to
be pretty risk tallerant, you know, just go after things.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yes, did you have opportunities to play college soccer.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
In stance, Yeah, quite a few opportunities to play college soccer,
But it wasn't ever something that I was super passionate about.
I really wanted to go the pro route first, and
I was running other businesses at the time, so I
was balancing, Hey, do I just go full entrepreneur, run
the private training company, stay with these investments.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Do I want to play college soccer?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And then when I was presented with the opportunity to
play football, I was thinking about Tim Tebow. He's always
been a big role model of mine. Like, man, here's
a guy who played football at the highest level, but
he used it as a stage to share his faith
and to be a philanthropist and work on other ventures.
And so that's what excited me about football. It was new,
it was exciting. I felt like I could run my
(09:05):
businesses at the same time that I could still compete
and try to you know, get to the you know,
reach my athletic potential.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Okay, so you kind of dropped it in there that
you had businesses plural as a teenager.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
M HM, tell me about those. I grew up home schooled.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
I think it was more of a non traditional educational route,
and so my parents were big on learning by doing,
and so when I was sixteen, I started a private
training company.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
It really was nothing big at first.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
It was just going out too the fields and training
kids in the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
But I was professional and I did my best.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
I'd create PDFs and I'd communicate with the parents, and
that really helped me to learn those business skills at
a very young age. And so then I kept running
that all throughout high school and now my sister handles
it pretty much full time, doesn't phenomenal job with it.
And then I've always been interested in technology as well,
and so I mentioned when I went over to Brazil,
I started a blog and through that process I got
a little bit of knowledge in the website design space,
(09:55):
creating logos, creating brands. And so I worked in the
technology space and had a little business doing some salesforce
implementation and some brand design, and it was just something
I would do, you know, with free time here and there.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So it was the technology.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
It was the private training, and then I kind of
did that while I was, you know, playing.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Sports all the way up.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I have to imagine the one year you spent at
Notre Dame was probably pretty valuable then for someone who's
interested in business. I read you got connected with Tom
Mendoza a little bit there. What was that experience like,
not just as a football we're not even talking about
the football.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Side of it now, but well just all in company,
Like Notre Dame was the place for me, Like everything
that I had dreamed of Notre Dame being it was.
I just felt like, listen, I have one year to
just maximize my experience here from a football perspective, but
also an off the field perspective with the network and
tapping into an alumni base that is just legendary and
world renowned. And so I went up there and I
(10:48):
had the opportunity to meet so many cool people through football,
but our lasting relationships that will impact me and help
me in the business world that really had nothing to
do with my football career, but were made possile because
I went to Notre Dame and got a chance to
play on that awesome field.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So it's all interconnected. The like going to Notre Dame
was kind of a serendipitous thing, you know. I know
you've talked about it in the media where Brian Mason,
who's now the Colts special teams coordinator, was the one
who recruited you there as a grad transfer and then
he comes here to the Colts and you didn't really
actually overlap with him, but now you're here. I also
read that you have a number of family members who
(11:24):
are Notre Dame fans. So yeah, like that all just
feels like that was like, like you said, it was
the place for you to be, and that's just that's
a really cool thing is that doesn't always happen at
the college level.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, it feels like home.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And I don't know, Mace, I can't either either I
can't get away from him or he can't get away
from me.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
But he recruited me to Notre Dame and then ended
up coming to the Colts.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
But he told me, he's like, man, you're a Notre
Dame guy, like you gotta stay here. He's like, you're
gonna have an amazing experience. And so through that process,
even though it was brief during the time that he
recruited me before he left. I built a lot of trust,
you know, back and forth, and I felt like he
had my best interest in mind. So then when I was,
you know, choosing what team to go and to free
agency because you have multiple choices, I was like, man,
(12:04):
how cool would it be to go back to Indy
or stay in Indy, you know, coming from Notre Dame,
be with Mace again. I know that he has my
best interest in mind. And then wherever God takes me,
he takes me. And so that's exactly what happened. I
came here, had an amazing experience, learned from some of
the best in the business, and then got the chance
to go to New York and then the Chiefs. And
then when I went into free agency again, I was like, ah,
(12:26):
I got some unfinished business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I gotta go back. What was that experience like for you.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Kicking at Lucas Oil Stadium in that Week one opener? Like,
I know you talked about your process and you know,
stoicism and not making it bigger than it might be.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
But it's Week one of the NFL season.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
You're stepping in from that gay in that game, and
you've got to make a couple of pats.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
What sort of just kind of centered you in that
as well.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I think in moments like that, you're never truly prepared,
and so keeping it in perspective and understanding that everyone
one's going through the same emotions and a lot of
people are fighting the same battles that you are really helps.
And so it's like, Man, I went from not knowing
if I'd have a chance in the NFL to start
in the season opener, but I'm here and i gotta
go out there and i gotta play. And there's a
(13:14):
lot of other people that are dealing with this as well,
and so you just have to keep like pulling yourself
back because your mind wants to wander and your emotions
want to creep in. So the stress or the fear,
the anxiety wants to come in. But you got to
fill that space with something else. And so if you
fill it with gratefulness, and you fill it with positivity,
and you fill it with you know, faith, there's not
(13:34):
as much room for those other emotions to creep in.
And so that's something I'm very proactive in is trying
to stay in my Bible before the games, trying to
keep my mental space filled with positive things and not
let the fear of the uncertainty and the doubt creep
in because there's no space for it.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Good deal, Spencer Schrader, appreciate your time in. We'll see
up a grand park for training camp in a couple weeks.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
All right, back here on the Cult Show, it's time
for the Cults Show mail Bag. Remember, you can submit
your questions on Colts dot com slash mailbag. You can
get them at me on Instagram, on x whatever social
media platform you want. I might even check my LinkedIn
messages whatever, or you can drop them in the YouTube
comments on this episode. All right, today's question comes from
(14:16):
Harold Miller from Bedford, Indiana. Do you see the Colts
offensive line holding up for our quarterbacks? And simple question,
but I wanted to take this chance to talk about
the line because there are two major departures on it,
right and Ryan Kelly and Will Fryes, both who signed
with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency. The Colts haven't
(14:37):
had like pretty that level of significant opening on their
offensive line in a couple of years. But I do
want to before we get into that, I want to
talk about the rest of the line. Because I feel
like we don't talk about the left side of the
Colts offensive line enough and how good it is. It's
just maybe, yeah, they'll be fine. You got Quentin Nelson,
he's a pro bowler. You got Bernard Ryman, he's a
(14:57):
really good player. Bernard Ryman has been consistently a really
good NFL left tackle for the last couple of years.
Like your baseline from him is that you're gonna get
good pass protection. And maybe there's still some upside with
him given his kind of relative lack of experience he
didn't start playing tackle until halfway through his college career.
(15:17):
But his PFF passlo grades in the last two years
he was at eighty one point three and twenty twenty
three eighty two point zero in twenty twenty four, those
both ranked in the top fifteen among tackles. So baseline again,
good player. You need guys like Bernard Ryman on your
line who you can just say that guy's gonna be good.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
We don't have to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Maybe he's got some more upside, but we trust him,
especially at the left tackle position. Quent Nelson, we know
he's great. Like obviously, everyone who watches Colts Football knows
Quintin Nelson is one of the best offensive linemen in
the NFL full stop. Last year he was he had
the fourth highest Pro Football Focused pass block grade among guards.
You're getting that Pro Bowl and all Pro level play,
(15:58):
but you're also getting Durability hasn't missed a game since
twenty twenty one. That stretch of games I think it
was four that year are the only games he's ever
missed in his entire career. So again, you're getting those
two guys. Just wanted to give him a bit of
a shout out and that maybe we don't talk about
them enough and how good they are. On the right side,
you are getting Braiden Smith back. You know, obviously he
went through what he went through last year with some
(16:20):
significant mental health issues. All reports have been very positive
about him and his ability to come back and be
the Braiden Smith that I think we got to know
over the last couple of years in terms of how
he can block as a he's a great run blocker,
like he consistently ranks among the top tackles in run
blocking by Pro Football Focus, and he's been consistent as
(16:40):
a good right tackle in the NFL as well. His
PFF pass block grade anywhere from usually kind of the
mid seventies, which, again that's good. That is a good
player right there. Oline's week link system. He is not
a weak link as long as he is able to
be on the field. That's the thing with Braden Smith
is he has missed some games over the last couple
of years, whether it's been due to injury or obviously
(17:01):
last year when he went on the non football illness list.
So again, good player. Right there, two really good players
on the left side. So you're looking at center and
right guard is kind of the two positions that like
where where do those two positions go? And how good
can they be? With Tannerbordalini or Danny Pinter starting at
(17:24):
center and then probably mackinsal this starting at right guard.
Those guys are gonna have to earn it durning training
camp and we'll sort it out there. You know, Tanner
Bordalini last year did some good things. In two hundred
and eleven pass blocking snaps, two hundred and ten of
which were at center. He did not allow a sack.
Per Pro Football Focus, He's wonted ten centers to play
at least two hundred pass blocking snaps and not allow
(17:45):
a sack last year, so that's good run blocking matters here.
You know, he's got some upside there, as does the
vision and ability to make calls of the line. I
think that's where Danny Pinter kind of comes in. Pinter
being a veteran drafted in twenty twenty, he's been around
quite a bit.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
The Colts love this guy.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
They brought him back for the last couple of years
for you know, for a reason, right like because they
think he can play. So that's going to be a
really interesting camp battle. Lara and I are going to
get into that one on next on next week's podcast
previewing training camp. And then you know, right guard Macknzalbez
has not played right guard in the NFL outside of
I think one snap last year, and he was a
(18:22):
tackle at pitt But the Colts drafted Gonzalez in the
third round in twenty twenty four with the thought that
this guy would have that tackle guard flexibility and he
could kick inside to guard. I think you see more
guys make the college tackle to NFL guard transition than
the reverse, which oddly enough is Braden Smith, who was
(18:43):
a college guard wound up playing tackle in the NFL
and playing it really well, so we'll see. I mean, look,
O line's a weak link system, and if one of
these guys, one of these positions turns into a link
weak link, you can expect teams are going to attack it.
But what based on what we know about Tony Sprono
Junior or the Culto Wine coach, I don't expect I
think any of these guys to be a week link.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
I think you're gonna see.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Growth and development from whoever's your starting center, and then
you know ideal lincoinsolves at right guard this season. So
to answer Harold's question, I do see the offensive line
holding up for Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones, whoever the
quarterback is going to be. We got into all of
that on next week's podcast, which is a full training
camp preview I did with Lara Overton. We got in
(19:28):
depth about the quarterback competition, about a bunch of other
competitions down the roster, about the rookies, about our camp
breakout stars. We answered a question about underrated position groups.
So really good stuff. Get your questions in for the
Colt Show Mailbag at colts dot com slash Mailbag on
social media as well. I'll be answering those on next
(19:49):
week's podcast and then also on colts dot com in
the weekly Coult Show Mailbag. All right, that's gonna do
it for this week's episode. Remember to rate, review and
subscribe to us here on Indian App Colts Podcast. We
got a lot of good stuff coming for you once
training camp starts in less than two weeks.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Up at Grand Park.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
You can go to Colts dot com slash Camp to
get your tickets. Talk to you next week for a
full training camp preview.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So long
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