Full Speed Ahead: E.J. Speed’s rise to the NFL

Rookie linebacker E.J. Speed has been a revelation during Colts training camp and off-season work. With his athleticism, intensity, and physicality, the 5th Round pick has shone bright and is already looking to play key snaps once the season begins. He may not have been on many draft analysts radars, but Speed is already looking like another Chris Ballard steal - just a year after Darius Leonard shocked the NFL world. For Tarleton State’s linebacker Coach Marc Martinez, however, Speed’s initial success doesn’t come as a surprise. At all.

“I haven’t had a player like him,” Martinez remarked when I asked about Speed’s game. “You know a kid with that much talent, length and aggressiveness.…