FootballScoop Exclusive: Senior Bowl Coach's Diary Day 2 From Colts Assistant Brian Bratton

MOBILE, Ala. – This is the second installment of FootballScoop’s exclusive, week-long look inside the annual Reese’s Senior Bowl through the eyes of an NFL assistant coach who’s on staff this week for college football’s annual top all-star showcase.

Brian Bratton, an offensive assistant coach with the Indianapolis Colts who was selected to coach wide receivers this year for the American squad, has agreed to provide a daily diary that brings a first-person view throughout the week to the audience at FootballScoop.

Bratton opened with his first piece Tuesday, and continues his insights today:

Now looking back at our first practice (Tuesday), it really was a good, productive day.

We started at 7:45 a.m. with an offensive staff meeting, then had staff meeting and then met with players. We reviewed installations, asked them for any questions they had for the practice in the afternoon.

We wanted to take time on any questions so that we could maximize as much productivity as possible in that first practice, but we also wanted that practice to be the first opportunity for them to start showcasing their skills.

First of all, it was a great meeting, really awesome. The guys asked great questions, and it just really showed they were locked in, dialed in and recognized that they have a great opportunity in front of them.

From a wide receivers standpoint and the guys I’m working with, I just felt these guys really wanted to put their best foot forward. It felt like as we were coming off the field from practice that they’d done a good job in trying to do that.

I think they’re being really attentive to the nuances of the game, from their splits to the way the field has changed (from the college to the pro set-up) as far as numbers and hashes and how they have to get aligned. Then to the different aspects of the concepts that we’re running, asking specific questions to make sure they’re getting it and implementing it the right way.

I feel like that’s a crucial element in this business, you want to do things the right way, be where you’re supposed to be, do what you’re supposed to do and show that you’re putting in the effort and work to accomplish those things.

We were out there on the practice field about two hours, and these guys are getting an opportunity to be evaluated in front of NFL head coaches, coordinators, personnel people from all over the league and, of course, there’s media everywhere. They truly have an opportunity to really showcase who they are, what their skillsets are and how they can potentially impact an NFL team.

Even as we were going through practice, we could see guys making strides. As we were having them do some things that Reggie Wayne would teach us to do in Indianapolis, these guys made strides, made some big plays. Obviously, there are some things to improve on, for me as well, but for the first day, I really thought they did a good job of starting to showcase some of their skills.

I’ve been through a lot of first days of practice, as both a player and a coach, and I would actually put this one right up there with the teams they had been together [rather than having just been assembled in an all-star format].

It was pretty clean, not a ton of mistakes. These guys, you could really tell these guys have studied their stuff. They’ve got a good approach, taking it seriously and putting their time in even before they got down here. It shows teams they’re serious about it. That’s what you have to do to be a pro and to play on this level.

I left after watching our film after the practice pretty pleased overall with where they are, and I feel like we can see a ton of potential of where they can be. They always say your best improvement is from Day 1 to Day 2, We’ve got some new stuff to keep doing and putting in, and they’ll get a chance with that and get a chance to improve on what we did the first day.

There’s a lot of energy down here. I don’t pay too much attention to what ‘the buzz’ is, but I can tell you there’s just a lot of energy from everyone down here.

I do think what’s cool is some college staffs coming through to support their players they have that are here. I saw a lot of college coaches and guys I know. It’s just awesome to see them there supporting their guys.

Nothing’s supposed to ever be as hard as the first day, so we’re going to go get after it and see how much more we can grow this week.