The Indianapolis Colts began training camp on Wednesday, and former Alabama center Ryan Kelly took first-team reps.

When asked about why Kelly’s ready for the starting spot, Colts coach Chuck Pagano gushed about the Crimson Tide coaches.

“Credit Nick Saban and his staff down there – Mario Cristobal, who coached him down at the University of Alabama,” Pagano told reporters. “They did a great job with him in preparing him for this moment.”

When the team evaluated Kelly, and ultimately selected him at No. 18 overall, they expected him to be ready to start as a rookie.

“We spent a lot of time studying Ryan,” Pagano said, “and there wasn’t much that we didn’t know about him as a football player, as a man, the character that he had, the family that he came from, his work ethic, his football intelligence, his passion for the game, leadership qualities. Everything that we saw and learned through the process of evaluating him, we’re seeing the same thing here day in and day out. From Day 1, we threw him in with the 1’s, and he’s made mistakes like everybody’s going to make mistakes, but he’s unflappable. He doesn’t get rattled; he doesn’t get shaken. He’s able to move on when bad plays happen.”

Even as a rookie, Kelly appears ready to be a leader.

“Playing center, obviously, I think you have to have a sense of leadership,” Kelly told Colts.com prior to the start of camp. “You have to control those four guys around you and the entire offense and get them going. But at the same time, I think you have to establish yourself as a good player.”

Kelly will get his first preseason game action when the Colts take on the Green Bay Packers in the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio.