INDIANAPOLIS – The baby-faced trio walked through the doors Thursday evening, embarking on the next phase of their lives with nary a clue of what lies ahead.

What will ultimately become of the three defensive backs drafted by the Indianapolis Colts this spring?

Will they fall short of expectations, as so many draft picks tend to do, relegated to footnotes in a media guide that spans nearly 500 pages? Or might they seize the tantalizing opportunities in front of them and transform the Colts’ secondary?

In the end, Malik Hooker, Quincy Wilson and Nate Hairston will determine their own fates. But, for now, know this: They have every reason to feel optimistic about their chances to make a mark in the defensive backfield.

“It’s wide open back there,” coach Chuck Pagano deadpanned Friday, the first day of the Colts’ rookie minicamp, during which the 2017 class made its on-field debut.

If first-round pick Hooker wants to be the starting free safety, then it’s there for the taking. If second-rounder Wilson proves he’s a worthy counterpart to No. 1 cornerback Vontae Davis, he must prove it. And if fifth-round selection Hairston deserves a spot in the secondary, be it in the starting lineup or as a key backup, then that’s up to him.

The plan, Pagano said, is to put these guys to work “as fast as they can grasp this and get on the field.”

The Colts insist they didn’t draw it up this way. General manager Chris Ballard maintains things just broke their way in the NFL draft, with the availability of players simply lining up with the team’s draft board by sheer luck.

But intentional or not, the focus on the defensive backfield was clear. The Colts drafted eight players, and three of them play in the secondary.

History tells us the odds of all three panning out are slim. But what if this group manages to defy those odds? That would give the Colts a core group in the back end of their defense that could significantly alter the makeup of the unit for years to come.

“We can definitely get some chemistry going,” said Wilson, a cornerback from the University of Florida.

Hooker, the 15th overall pick from Ohio State said, “I feel like this group is definitely capable of making a great run.”

Hooker will get off to a bit of a slow start. He’s not participating in this weekend’s on-field activities because he’s still recovering from surgery to correct a pair of sports hernias and a related hip issue. He said he played through the injuries toward the end of last season with the Buckeyes because he planned to turn pro this year and didn’t want to give up his final opportunities to play with his college teammates.

“That’s the last time you get to play with the guys that you’ve built a bond with,” he said. “I felt like there was no choice.”

But Hooker, 21, said he will be back for the start of training camp in July, and Pagano confirmed as much. Once he returns, look for Hooker to make an immediate bid to win the starting free safety job where he can bring his center fielder skills to the table. Hooker said he is diving into the playbook with abandon in the meantime, hoping to increase the odds of making that happen.

“It’s about how you prepare,” he said. “The easy part is to go out there and do it. The hard part is knowing what to do. I feel like I’m gifted enough to just go out there and do the job.”

Again, time will tell.

Ditto for Wilson, though he has the ability to mount a similar challenge to become an opening-day starter. His impressive size was evident on Friday when he suited up in his brand-new No. 31 jersey, and Pagano said the traits they saw at Florida were immediately noticeable. Wilson said he acclimated well to the concepts introduced to him by coaches on Friday, in part because the Gators use many pro techniques in their scheme.

Of note on Wilson: He’s just 20 years old — as his cherubic face suggests — having decided to leave school after his junior season.

Hairston has a bit of a longer learning curve, having played receiver for his first three seasons in college. He’s only been a cornerback since his redshirt junior season, giving the Colts reason to believe he has significant upside.

The Colts view this trio much the same way they see their haul of offensive linemen from the 2016 draft: a quartet that helped reshape that key offensive unit.

With a little luck, they’ll have comparable results on defense with these defensive backs.

“They’ve got as good an opportunity as anybody else,” to make an immediate impact, Pagano said.

Whether they do, well, that’s up to them.

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