It was 2012, Reggie Wayne’s 12th year with the Colts and T.Y. Hilton’s first after being selected in the third round out of Florida International. Over the years, Hilton would become known as “The Ghost,” a nickname given to him by Chuck Pagano, but for a time there, he was The Shadow.
He wouldn’t leave Wayne alone.
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Wherever the Colts veteran wide receiver went, The Shadow would be there, in the locker room, in the cafeteria, everywhere.
“He got on my nerves,” Wayne said with a smile. “He came in all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and he sat next to me every day. Every day. But that’s how he learned to be a pro.”
All these years later, Hilton forged one of the greatest careers in Colts receiving history. On his resumé: four Pro Bowls, the league leader in receiving yards in 2016, 631 receptions, 9,691 yards and 53 receiving touchdowns. With Andrew Luck as his quarterback, Hilton surged past 1,000 receiving yards four straight years. Oh, and he owns the Houston Texans (103 catches, 1,820 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 20 games).
So if this is it — and there’s a huge banner of Hilton now adorning Lucas Oil Stadium, reading “Thank you for the memories” — he will be remembered not only as the third-most productive receiver in Indy history (behind Wayne and Marvin Harrison), but as a guy who grew from a quiet, eager rookie to a grown man who became a leader for the Colts’ young rookie corps.
— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) September 14, 2022
Theoretically, it’s possible there may be more football in Hilton, but it’s highly likely that will happen elsewhere — if it happens at all. The door to a Colts’ return has been closed. An organization doesn’t hang a “thanks for the memories” banner if they have any designs on re-signing the 32-year-old receiver.
By the end of his tenure in Indy, he was doing for Michael Pittman, Jr. and others what Marvin Harrison did for Wayne, what Wayne did for Hilton. It’s the circle of football life.
“Whenever you’re coming from a (receivers) tree, it (leadership) kind of falls in your lap more than you wanting it,” Wayne said. “I remember when Marv left, I wasn’t raising my hand to be a leader; I became one by default. I think it was the same way with T.Y. I don’t think he came here as a leader, but he became one.”
GO DEEPER
T.Y. Hilton's world: 13 stories of the unlikely Colts star
Harrison started it all, landing as the franchise’s all-time leading receiver with 1,102 receptions for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns, ending up in the Hall of Fame. Wayne came next, finishing with 1,070 catches for 14,345 yards and 82 TD’s, becoming the Colts’ second most-productive receiver; he remains a Hall of Fame candidate. Then there was Hilton, whose numbers would have been even more impressive had Luck stayed healthy.
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We saw Hilton grow up and grow into his role. When he got here from FIU, the 23-year-old Hilton was a quiet sort; friendly, always accommodating, eminently approachable, but he didn’t have a lot to say — or a lot he felt he needed to share with the media. He was an anti-diva, never complaining about getting his touches on the football field. And that never changed throughout his marvelous career, save for one bump in the road in 2017 when he publicly criticized his team’s offensive line for failing to adequately protect his good friend, quarterback Jacoby Brissett. (He wasn’t wrong — Brissett was sacked 10 times by the Jaguars that day — but he did apologize later).
Over time, he grew, became more vocal within the locker room, and by the end, he became a beloved and respected figure whose pre-game speeches became the stuff of legend.
Talk to current Colts, and they’ll tell you they were whipped into a frenzy when Hilton returned from a frightening neck surgery last October and gave a speech that stirred the locker room before a game against the Houston Texans. The Colts won easily, 31-3.
“I’ll never forget that,” said safety Julian Blackmon. “He was so fired up to play because he was coming off that surgery, and he went off. He was so fired up in that speech and we know he’s such a quiet guy, but him being back on the field, everybody seeing how much that game meant to him, that fired everybody up, watching him battle against adversity and be back on the field with everybody, that got everybody turned up.”
Welcome back, @TYHilton13! #ForTheShoe
📺: #HOUvsIND on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/O9aJWuIW4Y— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2021
Wait, T.Y. Hilton, orator?
The media didn’t typically see this side of him. But as last year’s season-long “Hard Knocks” revealed, Hilton was the unquestioned heartbeat of the organization. That may explain why he remained with the team even beyond the point when he was no longer as productive as he once was. It was his presence, his leadership, his gravitas.
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“I’ve heard from the guys that he gave some great speeches last year,” Wayne said. He smiled. “That surprises me, honestly. That’s the kind of thing he used to shy away from; he was more laid back, took more of a Marvin (Harrison) approach. He’s a quiet guy, or he used to be when I was here. His humility, he was never braggadocious, never a me-guy. Quiet, humble, put his head down and worked.
“But he worked into more of a vocal leadership role.”
More, though, it was the small stuff that endeared him to his teammates and the city, never more so than the 2014 home game against Jacksonville; his wife had given birth to their daughter earlier in the week, and when Hilton scored a touchdown, instead of doing the usual “T.Y.” celebration, he mimicked rocking a baby to sleep.
T.Y. Hilton with the TD! Cradling the baby! A tribute to his new daughter. #JAXvsIND https://t.co/kHdQXUGYBb
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 23, 2014
It was the little things he did that were so big.
Like when Parris Campbell was working his way through a series of season-ending injuries that made him a rehab regular in the trainer’s room.
“He always made an extra effort to be there when I was there, to support me and show me he was there for me,” Campbell said. “We got really close through those times. He went out of his way to show me he was there for me when he really didn’t need to do that. That’s something I’ll always appreciate.”
The little things …
“We would go out to dinner, and he would tip above and beyond, way above and beyond, and you’d see the waiter or waitress, they have a big smile on their face,” Campbell said “Just things like that. He was so good with people. He just likes to make people smile. He cares. Sometimes in this game, people kind of lose sight of the human element. T.Y. is a great human who goes out of his way for a lot of different people in a lot of different ways.”
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The little things …
“He showed me how to run routes at a controlled pace,” Colts receiver Ashton Dulin said. “Like, not everything has to be run at a hundred miles an hour. T.Y. was real savvy like that, being able to run routes under control.”
The little things …
“Cornhole,” Dulin said with a smile. “I miss our (locker room) cornhole games.”
Hilton came along in the same 2012 draft as Andrew Luck, and together, the pair combined to become one of the league’s most dynamic passing combinations. He is the last remnant of the Ryan Grigson Era, part of an amazing draft that helped the Colts go 11-5 in 2012 after a complete rebuild and a 2-14 season.
When Luck retired in 2019, he singled out Hilton as the reason he returned to football after missing the 2017 season.
“I had more fun throwing the football to T.Y. than should be allowed probably,” Luck said during his farewell address. “When I was away in 2017, for the latter half of the season, I had to figure out why I wanted to come back to play football. And I boiled it simply down to the fact that I liked my friends and I loved throwing the ball to T.Y. Hilton. He’s the best football player I’ve ever played with, and he’s a better teammate than he is a football player.”
As a player and as a man, Hilton was and is a civic treasure. If this is it — “Thanks for the memories” sounds a whole lot like a heartfelt goodbye — Hilton will be recalled as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
The Ring of Honor beckons.
(Photo: Bobby Ellis / Getty Images)
