Twelve months a year, the Colts’ college scouting staff crisscrosses the country mining talent, finding flaws and getting the goods on players at schools big and small.



They amass a mountain of information on prospects that runs the gamut – their character history, strengths, weaknesses, feedback from coaches and associates outside of football. It’s a never-ending, underappreciated process that finds the spotlight this week during the NFL scouting combine.



But for all the work the scouting staff puts in, general manager Chris Ballard and his subordinates willingly take a back seat during one very important aspect of the combine. For the team’s 60 formal interviews with college prospects, an absolutely critical piece of the scouting process, the personnel department happily hands off the football.



“We turn it over to our coaches,” Ballard said. “I don’t ask too many questions in that meeting unless there’s...