Zak Keefer

zak.keefer@indystar.com

ANDERSON — The most unlikely layer to Henoc Muamba's unlikely journey isn't that the Congolese-born, Canadian-bred NFL hopeful didn't strap on a football helmet until he was 16, or that he didn't start playing linebacker, the job he now aspires to earn with the Indianapolis Colts, until he was a sophomore in college.

It's this: When he first started in the sport, just eight years ago, he didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

"Hated football," Muamba admits. "Didn't understand the rules. Didn't want to get hurt."

The bad news for the naïve teenager? He wasn't a kicker — getting hurt was part of the job.

To that point Muamba was, in his words, "strictly a basketball guy." But not to a few of the high school's football coaches. Recognizing his raw athleticism, they pleaded with him to give football a shot. He finally acquiesced. In short order, and despite that fear of pain and all those complicated rules, he flourished.

That's all he's done ever since.

The winding ascent that followed has landed the 6-foot, 242-pounder here, his latest stop, Anderson, Ind., where the kid who used to hate football now hopes to win a job on an NFL roster.

No matter he never played the game as a youth, bouncing with his parents and two brothers between stops in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Soon, after his high school coaches convinced him to give football a shot, he became the best player on the team.

The storyline would follow suit at St. Francis Xavier University, where Muamba was moved from running back and safety to strictly a linebacker his sophomore season. And it was here, as a budding talent relocated to the heart of the defense, when Muamba's late-blooming passion finally took hold on him. It was here that football finally pulled him in.

He studied, he worked, he learned. Just like high school, he became the best on the team.

"I did everything in my power to get better," he said.

His progress never slowed. He became the best in the conference. Then the best defensive player in the nation. Then the No. 1 overall pick in the Canadian Football League Draft. Then one of the best players in the CFL.

Then, an Indianapolis Colt.

He went from a fear of pain to inflictor of pain, a tenacious and tireless tackle machine who flourished in the pass-happy CFL. A transition to the NFL — a dream of Muamba's since his college days — became inevitable. All that was left to decide was where he'd end up.

Contacted by 19 different teams, the Colts were always leaders in the clubhouse. That's because general manager Ryan Grigson — not a secretary or an assistant, like most of the other teams that reached out — was the first to call Muamba directly.

"That was something that really mattered to me," Muamba said. "That was huge for me."

He signed in early February. A tempting comparison immediately took root: Is Muamba the next Jerrell Freeman, a linebacking gem Grigson unearthed from the CFL?

The veteran Freeman offers caution. He was an American-bred, football-loving Texas teenager before making his name in Canada. He's been playing the sport his whole life.

Muamba has not. Even with his talents, he's late to the party. The NFL is a different animal. The learning curve will be sharp.

"It's a totally different game up there," Freeman said. "But he's out here making plays, starting getting used to the downhill. It's Canada, it's a lot of lateral movement, it's a passing league. Guys like us (who played in) Canada, you better know we can run."

In camp, Muamba finds himself in a battle for one of the inside linebacker positions. With Freeman and D'Qwell Jackson penciled in as starters, Muamba is fighting Kelvin Sheppard, Army veteran Josh McNary and sixth-round pick Andrew Jackson for the reserve spots.

He believed from the beginning, inspired by Freeman's example, that the Colts could be the right fit. Nothing in the time since, as training camp inches forward in its second week, has done anything to dissuade him of that. Yet there is work to be done.

"I like the direction of this team, and I like what they stand for, only bringing in high-character guys," Muamba said.

Added Freeman: "For a guy who's never played American football, you can see it in him. He knows the playbook and knows what he's doing. He's asking the right questions."

Muamba's winding road took him from Congo to Canada to Anderson, site of his first NFL training camp. It's seen him become the best player at every stop. Now, he gets his shot to see if he can survive at the game's highest level.

How could he hate football now?

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.

Colts Camp Live featuring the IndyStar's Bob Kravitz, Stephen Holder and Mike Chappell, and Chris Hagan from Fox59 will be on IndyStar.com at 11:45 a.m. Monday.

Each weekday the Colts hold training camp at Anderson University, our Colts coverage team will discuss the top issues of the day around the team and interview a Colts player live.

ROSTER MOVES

On Sunday the Colts signed free agent wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson, waived-injured cornerback Brandon Burton and waived wide receiver Greg Moore. If Burton clears waivers, he will revert to the Colts Injured Reserve list.