INDIANAPOLIS – Want the job? Go get the job.

“Like I said in the spring,” Chester Rogers declared Saturday, “if you’re scared of competition, you shouldn’t be here.”

He’s about to find himself in one. Rogers, the undrafted afterthought at wide receiver who stunned most by simply making the Indianapolis Colts’ 53-man roster last season, then stunned them even more by producing more and more as the season wore on, has his sights set on the team’s No. 3 receiving job this year.

Why? Because the coaches told him that job is up for grabs.

“When I came in (this year), they said, ‘If you want the position, the No. 3 spot, go take it,’” Rogers said on the morning the Colts reported to training camp at their West 56th Street facility. “That’s been my mindset ever since. That’s all you can ask for. I love it.”

The go-get-it mantra comes in accordance with new General Manager Chris Ballard’s emphasis on competition. Jobs guaranteed in the past are guaranteed no longer. Save perhaps Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton and future Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri, every player on this roster is going to have to earn their spot in the coming weeks. (Don’t worry, Andrew Luck, your job is waiting for you as soon as that shoulder is ready.)

Here, Rogers finds himself amidst the most intriguing position battle on the offense. The No. 3 spot, behind Hilton and No. 2 Donte Moncrief, theoretically falls to Phillip Dorsett, the first-round pick from 2015 who’s failed to consistently produce his first two seasons. Rogers was superb throughout the spring, in both offseason team activities and minicamp, and could very well unseat Dorsett on the depth chart with a strong showing over the coming weeks. Dorsett missed time this spring with a sore hamstring, and he’s well aware of the stakes this training camp holds for him.

There’s also veteran Kamar Aiken, a big-bodied target who arrived in free agency this spring and figures, like Rogers and Dorsett, to fight for that No. 3 spot.

The intensity will ramp up as soon as the Colts put on pads, which happens the middle of next week. Rogers is confident the show he put on in shorts in May and June will translate come August and September.

“At the end of the day, for receivers and (defensive backs), it’s pretty much the same to me,” Rogers said. “Going into training camp, it’s still the same. I don’t see it dying down. I want to take it up 10 more notches.”

One thing we know: He’ll get his chance.

Hooker: Cleared to practice

Well, that didn't last long.

First-round pick Malik Hooker, who was added to the physically unable to perform list earlier this week after tweaking a hamstring during a conditioning test, has been cleared to practice.

The team took Hooker off the PUP list Saturday afternoon. He can practice as early as Sunday, when the team hits the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for their first workout of training camp. Hooker sat out all of the team's summer workouts while recovering from hip surgery.

Also, as expected, the Colts placed defensive end Kendall Langford (knee) and reserve offensive lineman Brian Schwenke (foot) on the PUP list.

Davis: Arrives in style

The flamboyant arrival was the only one of its kind Saturday. Most Colts simply parked, grabbed a bag and headed inside.

Vontae Davis zipped up in his Polaris Slingshot roadster — a tribute, he said, "to the great Reggie Wayne."

"I just wanted to pull up in style," Davis, the Colts' star cornerback, said of the three-wheel vehicle that starts for $20,000 despite it's exotic look. "It's training camp, and everybody is excited, fans are excited, and shout out to Reggie Wayne."

Wayne, the Colts' all-time leader in games played, made flamboyant training camp arrivals an annual tradition. What would his reaction be to Davis' entrance Saturday?

“He’s going to smile and go like, ‘This guy,'" Davis said. "He’s going to get a kick out of it.”

Wayne seemed to approve.

Luck: You’ll see a better me. But when?

For the record, no, Andrew Luck was never going to stand at the podium Saturday morning and reveal his return date. Never going to happen.

It’s simply not how he operates. Heck, he wouldn’t even reveal if he’s throwing footballs or just tennis balls. He guards his injury information like state secrets, and has for years; the day after his kidney was lacerated in November 2015, Luck vowed he was all good.

But the takeaway from his first media availability since June was this: When Luck does return, he earnestly believes he’s going to be a better quarterback than he’s ever been. If Luck was convincing on any topic Saturday, it was this. He harped on it a handful of times. This operation, and it’s recovery, will make him a better player this season, next season, and for years to come.

As for now, he sees the progress, the strength returning, the confidence coming. He’s put on some weight. He’s crossing off steps in his rehabilitation.

He just doesn’t know when he’ll be cleared to practice. While urging Colts fans “there’s no reason to freak out,” Luck defended the Colts’ approach to his recovery. That is: Take all the time you need.

“I know we’re not skipping any steps,” he said. “We’re not going to rush it to rush it. I think that’d be the worst thing we can do.”

To no surprise, Luck wouldn’t touch the Sept. 10 target – that’d be the Colts’ regular-season opener in Los Angeles – but he came off resoundingly confident that they’re doing this the right way.

“I really feel this way, and in the last couple of weeks, month, wow — I see the light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. I truly feel that in my mind and my heart that I will be better. Really trying not to lose focus of that, and not get sideways because we have a team practice tomorrow. To everybody’s credit in this building, from Mr. (Jim) Irsay to Chris Ballard to Chuck (Pagano) to (offensive coordinator Rob) Chud(zinski) to (QB coach Brian) Schottenheimer, I have not felt any undue pressure or unwarranted pressure that might not be in my own self-interest. It’s weird to be selfish in a sense, but from talking to guys, trainers, doctors, you have to make sure you take care of yourself.”

He did admit this: The lengthy recovery has worn on him. He even revealed that he hasn’t been the most pleasant person to be around during portions of it. But throughout the process, Luck said, he’s seen a silver lining.

“The mental part was not fun and not easy,” he said. “But (that) will make me better than I was before.”

Turbin high on rookie RB

Running back Robert Turbin, back for his second season with the Colts, seems impressed with the newest addition to the position room. Marlon Mack, whom the Colts grabbed in the fourth round of last spring’s draft, figures to add some explosion into an otherwise vanilla backfield. The Colts produced just four runs of 20 yards or longer in 2016 — fewest in all of the NFL.

They drafted Mack to change that. Six of his 15 rushing touchdowns last season went for 43 yards or more.

“A lot of young guys sometimes come in and think they know it all already, because they’ve done it in college or whatever the case may be,” Turbin said. “He’s an incredible listener. He wants to grow and he wants to get better. And I think he’ll be a great back one day.”

Simon: Let’s hit

John Simon said Saturday he probably knows 50 or so of the 90 men on this roster.

“Defensive guys,” the outside linebacker clarified.

He’s new. So many of these guys are new. We’ll forgive him.

And if there’s any player who loved hearing Ballard predict a more physical camp, it’s Simon, the no-nonsense, former Houston Texan who, along with several others, should infuse some energy into what’s been a stagnant defensive unit. Tougher camps lead to tougher teams in November and December, Ballard said.

That’s music to Simon’s ears.

“The teams that win in this league are the most physical teams,” he said.

“Camp is supposed to be physical,” he added. “And for us on defense, we’re trying to be a more physical group out there.”

The work starts Sunday.

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.