 Joe Hegg began his football career at Brainerd High School before winning five national championships at NDSU now. He's a starting offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts. Clayton Castle has more. We're still 16 days away from the opening of most NFL training camps, but former Brainerd warrior and current Indianapolis Colts player Joe Hegg stopped in his hometown to sign some autographs, take some pictures and talk to Lakeland News about his rookie season. I think a big part of it was just kind of just being coachable, listening to what they're saying, talk to vets, try to understand as much as you can and try to hit that learning curve as quick as you can. That's something I was able to do pretty quickly and obviously put me in spots to be able to play lots last year. The Brainerd High and NDSU grad will continue to start this year for the Colts. With a promising rookie class and free agents, Joe says he's optimistic for the Colts 2017 campaign. I'm really excited. I think that we've got a heck of a lot of guys training in offense and we also have a lot of young guys in defense who are going to be fast. So I'm excited to see how that goes. But yeah, I'm excited to get out there and get out to training camp and get started. No matter how big of a star he becomes, he will always be remembered in his hometown as a hard worker with an excellent work ethic. He's probably a great example for young linemen or young athletes and the fact that if you want to have a dream, you've got to really go after it and work hard to get to it. And everything that Joe has done is built on hard work. Now, despite being a star in the NFL, Joe Hig will always have fond memories of his hometown of Brainerd, including here at Brainerd High School where he started both his junior and senior years and earned all state honors. Oh, I love it. I mean, there's people coming up to me all the time saying congratulations and I love it. I love this whole area. I love every aspect of it. I wouldn't be where I was if it wasn't for Brainerd football and this high school in this community. And I will never forget that. Hague and the Colts will kick off their regular season on September 10th in Los Angeles to take on the Rams, reporting in Brainerd and Baxter, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. Thanks, Clayton. The Lakeland area will have a few opportunities to see Hague in action this season. The Colts play three games on national television in prime time. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.