Witt lost the entire 2023 season due to an injury, so he is really just getting his feet wet in the middle of August this season, and he is loving every minute.

“It feels pretty darn cool,” he said. “It feels rewarding. Obviously, spending a year on IR, taking that year as a learning year, not being able to play in the games or any of that stuff, that full year, just practice, rehab and learning the playbook, I think it was good for me.

“At the end of the day, I’m able to go out this preseason and play confidently. So, I think that’s all I can ask for. It feels pretty nice to be back out on the field.”

He had to have surgery last season to deal with his injury, which can be frustrating for a professional athlete, especially one just beginning his career, but Witt feels that the experience was actually a positive one for him, as he compared it to being a freshman in college.

This is a photo of Jake Witt of the Indianapolis Colts NFL football team. This image reflects the Indianapolis Colts active roster as of Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo)

“I think the year when I had to get surgery, and I was injured, on injured reserve, I think that year was great just from a learning aspect, because I’m a guy who hadn’t played much football going into the draft, and I was coming from a Division II level, where I played only a year at my position,” he said. “I think a year like that, where it was almost like a redshirt year in college, I could take it to learn the playbook, kind of watch the veteran players and learn from them, too. I think that was a great year. Obviously, I couldn’t play on the field, but I don’t think , at the end of the day, that’s what I was going to be doing in Year One anyways.”

For Witt, whose path to the NFL has not been a traditional one of going to a Big Ten school, or an SEC school, but instead to Northern Michigan in Marquette, having a year to simply see how the game is different at the next level was helpful.

In fact, Witt did not go to college originally for football. He actually attended Michigan Tech first to play basketball, but transferred to Northern Michigan after one year. He then sat out two years before joining the Wildcats’ football program as a tight end, a position he played in high school.

The Wildcats moved him to tackle as a senior, and he enjoyed a solid season in a new position prior to the draft. However, it was really his workouts that sold teams on interest in him as a project.

“I played receiver and tight end and in high school, played the year basketball (at) Michigan Tech, and then I didn’t play sports for a full two years after that, because I was just a student for a year and then COVID hit,” Witt said. “I was a tight end again at Northern for a full year and then switched to tackle for a single year. So, I think, when they drafted me, they looked at my film, and saw that I was a raw athlete, and then saw the testing that I put up in my pro day, and thought, ‘Hey, this guy’s played very little at the position, but he’s promising in what he has athletically, and I think we can build them and build them into a player that we want.'”

Witt feels that even though he has not played tackle his whole life, he can learn to do it the right way.

“I think, at the end of the day, that limited experience in a lot of ways might have hurt me, but also might have helped me,” he said. “I don’t have any bad habits, and they can kind of build me up how they want in their scheme.”

After sitting on the sidelines last season, Witt is embracing the chance to show the Colts’ coaching staff that he is worth keeping around for the long-term this season. He has already seen action in each of the first two preseason games, a loss to the Denver Broncos and the win over the Cardinals.

“I would say it’s been very rewarding to finally be able to go out there and compete in a full training camp,” he said. “Obviously, last year, (I) got injured in the second week of training camp. Uncontrollable things that just happen with the sport of football. But, this year, it’s been refreshing and rewarding, because we were there all spring and summer. We were in OTAs with the team, training. We had practices. We were lifting, all that stuff, kind of getting the team together. (To) finally be able to go out training camp, and in preseason and play other teams, it’s definitely a rewarding feeling.”

In practice, Witt is trying to soak up as much knowledge as he can, especially from the two starting tackles the Colts will feature this season. The pair, Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith, are helping him understand what he needs to work on to improve each day.

“They’re both great veteran players, Top 10 in their position in the league, and they’re two great guys to learn from,” said Witt. “I’m thankful for them, because they are players that have taken me under their wing and kind of given me tips and tricks that they’ve learned over their careers.

“Other teams (might) have veteran players who don’t want to see younger players succeed, especially in their same position. So, I’m super thankful for them.”

The coaching staff has also been very helpful to Witt as he works to navigate his first full preseason.

“Obviously, the offensive line coach (Tony Sparano Jr.) and the assistant offensive line coach (Chris Watt), those are two great, great guys that were new to the staff with me last year,” he said. “The whole offensive staff was new last year.

“I think me being one of their two draft picks in their first year, I think was very special to them, too. They kind of (have) taken me as a project. They help me along and keep me under their wings. I think, between them, all the tackles on the roster, and the whole offensive line, they’re very supportive, helpful, and just great guys overall.”

Getting the opportunity to both dress and play against the Broncos on Sunday, Aug. 11, was a very special experience for Witt. Getting the chance to don the same jersey that players like Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Jeff Saturday have worn meant the world to the youngster from Bruce Crossing.

“It’s very special to be a part of a team with this much tradition, this much culture, and a team that’s starting to get back on track to what they were previously,” Witt said. “I think it means a lot to me to be a part of that, to be in a position where the expectation and the accountability level is so high and it makes everybody better, and just being around great guys, great players, that’s all they have in that building.

“They just have a great staff and a great roster filled with not only great players, but they select people that are players, that are great people as well. I think that’s very important, and it means a lot to me to be a part of it, too, because it’s an environment that I think I can thrive in.”

Witt says that during training camp, the days are often 12-14 long, between workouts, practice and meetings, but he is embracing the entire moment.

“Training camps are long, grueling days,” he said. “They’re 12, sometimes up to 14-hour days, but that’s the business. They take care of us well. They treat us well. But, it’s definitely some busy days.”

While the days are long, Witt is already enjoying a perk of the experience. His likeness was included in this year’s Madden 25, which just recently released.

“We get copies of Madden before they get released, and we got the copy of Madden 24 last year,” said Witt. “Obviously, that was my rookie year, so I’m subbing myself in at left tackle and making tackle-eligible passes. Then, obviously, this year with Madden 25, it’s pretty cool and also a pretty surreal feeling just to see myself in a video game. I’ll be in that video game until the end of time now. So, that’s pretty cool.”

Witt said that he is hearing from friends, family, and even fans that they are having fun including him in their gameplay in Madden.

“I’ve actually have some videos that got sent to me occasionally from some people that I do know, and some that I don’t know at all, that send me videos of the game that they’re playing,” he said. “A couple people have sent me videos saying, ‘Oh, you scored two touchdowns for me and won me this game.’ So, it is pretty cool when people send that kind of stuff and friends see you in video games. They buy the games to play as you. It is an awesome feeling.”

Looking back on his roots in Bruce Crossing, and his high school experiences at Ewen-Trout Creek, Witt would not trade any of his memories for any other path to the NFL.

“I think my upbringing plays a huge part of where I am today,” he said. “It might play into all of it. I think going to Ewen-Trout Creek High School, playing three sports. I think at that time I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty awesome.’ Which it was. It was some great memories, all this stuff, but compared to a lot of different high schools, I grew up with very little compared to what they had. So, I think I made do and did well with what I had there.”

Making the move to college, playing Division II was nice step up for Witt.

“Then, when I went up to the Division II level, it was eye opening to what they had at that level,” he said. “I think I made do, and did well at that level with the resources and everything else we had there. That helped me, too, when I went to the NFL.

“On top of that, I think coming from a small area, there’s nothing better than the community aspect of it, especially from the Upper Peninsula and the western U.P. I mean, the community is there. They’re obviously just unmatched, and everybody up there can attest to it. I think that there’s not a better community. I might be biased, but I don’t think there’s a better community to grow up into that. (The) people are, they’re so supportive, especially in this type of adventure.”

For now, Witt is just focused on forcing the Colts to keep him on the active roster. If that does not work out this season, he will take it in stride.

“At the end of the day, for me, I’m trying to do everything that I can to try to get better every day,” he said. “I know, at the end of the day, whether I make the team or whether I don’t, it’s out of my control. So, I’m just leaving everything on the table and going from there.”