It’s hard to get fired up about anything you see in an NFL practice where the players are wearing shorts and aren’t allowed to tackle.

Hard, but not impossible.

Which brings us to Johnathan Hankins.

The biggest ticket (three <a href="http://www.billsjerseysale.com/shop-by-players-marquise-goodwin-jersey-c-1_34.html">http://www.billsjerseysale.com/shop-by-players-marquise-goodwin-jersey-c-1_34.html</a> years, $27 million, with $14.5 million guaranteed) in the Colts’ biggest-ever free agent class (12 unrestricted veterans added), Hankins has quickly made an impression, even before registering his first takedown.

He has Pro Bowl ability, which in and of itself makes him something very different for the Colts. This franchise hasn’t sent an interior defensive lineman to the Pro Bowl since 1977 (Mike Barnes). Whether Hankins can fill that 40-year gap remains to be seen, but he should at least be a legitimate candidate.

“That’s a goal,” Hankins said. “Somebody on the defense has got to make it to the Pro Bowl, why not me? We can get somebody there.”

If things go according to Hankins’ plan, the Colts could have multiple contenders. He made a bold statement in mid-May on NFL Network: "Right now I feel like we got probably the best defense in the AFC.”

There was method behind that madness. For one, Hankins has been a part of a huge turnaround; the 2015 Giants were 32nd in total defense in Steve Spagnuolo’s first season as defensive coordinator, but jumped to 10th last season. For another, he was trying to do his part to bring a fresher, more confident culture to the defense.

“If you don’t set high goals, what are you working for?” he said. “I felt like that was necessary for me to do, especially with a new GM and the new atmosphere they want around here. That’s why they brought me in here, so just got to go out there and prove it.”

While his words certainly made an impression, so has the physical ability flashed during the offseason workouts.

“He’s a huge dude, and for as explosive as <a href="http://www.billsonlineofficial.com/shop-by-players-preston-brown-jersey-c-1_39.html">http://www.billsonlineofficial.com/shop-by-players-preston-brown-jersey-c-1_39.html</a> he is, I mean you don’t see that with many guys that big,” said Henry Anderson. “So just kind of the pop that he comes out of his stance with is pretty impressive, and I’m sure that’s going to kind of translate once we put pads on.”

“Big, athletic guy who’s very stout,” said Kendall Langford. “He has some wiggle with him. He’s agile. He can get to the quarterback. I’m excited to line up beside him and play.”

The presence of the 6-2, 320-pound Hankins, has created genuine and well-founded excitement about the potential for the team’s defensive front. Anderson and Langford both are recovering from knee surgery but are on track to be available during training camp.

Langford had seven sacks from the end spot two seasons ago but battled the knee issue last year. A third-round pick in 2015, Anderson flashed as a rookie before tearing his right ACL, and then while working his way back from that surgery injured his left knee last year. If those two get back to full strength, they could flank Hankins in the most talented front the Colts have fielded since the days of Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney

The Colts also have veterans <a href="http://www.billsshopofficial.com/shop-by-players-sammy-watkins-jersey-c-1_46.html">Sammy Watkins Jersey</a> David Parry and Al Woods at nose tackle, with young prospects Hassan Ridgeway (fourth round, 2016) and Grover Stewart (fourth round, 2017), not to mention ex-Bengal Margus Hunt and holdover T.Y. McGill.

“If they come back and everybody is healthy, we’re going to probably say goodbye to some guys that’ll end up getting picked up and probably be in a rotation or be starting somewhere. I think that’s where we’re at right now,” said Chuck Pagano. “That could happen. We’re going to have to say goodbye to some good players because there are a lot of good players there right now, some guys who have potential and have played good football.”

Again, it’s June. They haven’t even had mini-camp yet, let alone training camp. And the head coach can barely contain his excitement about the talent up front.

The fact of the matter is, they aren’t even sure yet where Hankins will play. There are a lot of possible permutations of the personnel available, but the star around which the other planets will orbit is Hankins.

“To say what he is right now, it really is going to depend how it shakes out with Al and David and Henry Anderson and all those other guys,” said defensive coordinator Ted Monachino. “He does have a pretty wide skill set. We were doing some pass rush things on the practice field and he is a big, loose athlete and it’s good to have a big, loose athlete in the front so wherever we need to use him. If there’s somebody that’s a better nose, then he’ll play the three. If there’s somebody that’s a better three then he’ll play the nose. He’s going to fit right into the depth immediately and he’s going to come in and try to impact our defense as soon as he can.”

A second-round pick in 2013, Hankins broke through with seven sacks in his second season, showing surprising ability to finish as a pass-rusher. A torn pectoral muscle truncated his 2015 season but he bounced back nicely in 2016 with 43 tackles and three sacks.  

The challenge will be fitting the pieces together efficiently.  

“A lot of us are versatile,” said Anderson. “We play multiple positions. The three positions, d-end, d-tackle and nose tackle are all pretty similar. I know I don’t really have a body to play nose tackle, but if I need to play inside, I can play inside. We have a lot of guys like that. So yeah, I think we can present teams with different looks, and if we want to go with a quicker front, we can put in smaller guys because even some of the smaller guys we have can play well against the run. So yeah, excited to see what we do with that.”

Versatility is nice, but can mitigate against stability. And stability is something the Colts desperately need. At the very least, with Hankins as the anchor, it appears they will have a foundation capable of supporting the <a href="http://www.buccaneersprostore.com/lowest-price-demar-dotson-69-jersey-cheap-replica-online.html">Demar Dotson Kids Jersey</a> construction of this defense.

It might not be the best in the NFL but, if Hankins has the expected influence on the field as well as off, it won’t be the worst.