Canadian offensive lineman Carter O’Donnell is known as a man of few words, but when called upon at an Indianapolis Colts singing session, he didn’t shy away.
O’Donnell marched up to the podium and provided his own rendition of Canada’s national anthem.
.@colts karaoke featuring Carter O’Donnell singing O Canada. ????????????
????: @Colts pic.twitter.com/MZERFgv5aW
— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) August 31, 2020
He was prepared, pulled off his Colts hoodie and revealed a red maple leaf taped to his t-shirt. His performance earned applause from the Colts players and coaches in attendance.
The six-foot-five, 313-pound blocker signed a three-year undrafted free agent contract worth up to $2.31 million with Indy following the 2020 NFL draft. He received a $25,000 signing bonus and $25,000 of his salary guaranteed. Indications from Colts training camp suggest the franchise sees the potential upside in O’Donnell.
“Carter O’Donnell has been slowly developing. It’s always a little bit of an adjustment coming from Canada,” head coach Frank Reich said recently.
O’Donnell was named a first-team U Sports All-Canadian for his efforts in anchoring the Alberta offensive line in 2019. He’s trying to follow a similar path to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on the field, he went from McGill University to starting in the NFL and winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Over the years I’ve had guys on our team that have come from Canada and you can find some good football players up there, but there’s always an adjustment period,” Reich said. “So we’ll see how it goes with Carter, he’s working hard, learning the ropes, we’ll continue to evaluate that as it goes.”
The 21-year-old O’Donnell is making an impression on and off the field at Colts camp.
