August 16, 2006, 5:51 pm

Erie's Ed Hinkel, an NFL rookie free agent who played at Cathedral Prep and Iowa, is one of 11 receivers in Indianapolis Colts camp in Terre Haute, Ind.

Staff writer John Dudley visited with Hinkel in Terre Haute on Wednesday and filed the following Q&A. Read Thursday's Erie Times-News or visit www.GoErie.com/football for a story on Hinkel's task of catching on with a potential Super Bowl-contending team.

Q&A with Ed Hinkel

Q: Can you critique yourself so far?

A: Things have been going pretty good, When I'm in there, I'm catching the ball. The offense obviously isn't easy to pick up, and it's hard being a rookie and not getting a ton of reps at this point.

Q: Knowing you have to prove yourself, do you come in with the attitude that you have to catch everything so the coaches will remember that when they evaluate?

A: Yeah. Basically all I can do is run the right routes and catch the ball when I'm in there, because I'm not in there a whole lot. Peyton (Manning) and the older guys want the reps, so when we're in there as young guys, we have to take advantage of our opportunities.

Q: You mentioned the offense. How overwhelming was it at first?

A: It's a pretty big playbook. The first day when I was in the room sitting in the meetings I would hear the play called and I would have no idea what was going on. It was like some science test or something.

Q: Who did you go to for help?

A: Dallas (Clark) is the guy who's been helping me out. He's in the huddle with me, and if I have a question when we're running out to the line I can ask him. Clyde (Christensen), our receivers coach, has been helping me, and the other receivers have helped me, too. It's competitive, but everybody's still helping each other, too.

Q: How did you wind up with the Colts?

A: Well, it took a little while. Looking back I wish I would have come here to begin with. I went to Baltimore and they didn't pass me on my physical, and I went to New York and the Jets didn't pass me, and I went to New England and it was the same thing. I ended up here, and it's worked out pretty well. I've been here for most of the summer.

Q: Had you been in contact with Bob Sanders throughout that process?

A: Well, not really. It's kind of tough, because there wasn't really anything he could do for me at that point. I had to do it along with my agent. It was a lot of people making a lot of phone calls, and this came up.

Q: Is it tough having to root against guys just like you to give yourself a better chance to make the team?

A: It is tough. There are a lot of guys here in the same position as me, and it's not easy to make the team as a free agent. I'm also trying to make it on special teams, and I'm spending time on that, too.

Q: Tony Dungy hasn't been afraid to take shots on free agents, though. Is that encouraging?

A: Definitely. Although at this point it doesn't matter if you were drafted or you were a free agent, we're all in the same boat trying to prove ourselves. If you're the better player you're the one that's going to make it.

Q: What's it like being back on the same field with Bob Sanders?

A: It's awesome. When he came back (to practice) the other day, you could tell as soon as he got out there that the intensity of the defense just picked up. It was obvious. It was the same thing he did in Iowa. It's just a totally different defense when he's out there.

Q: The two of you have been together now for high school, college, and now in the NFL. What would be a storybook ending for the two of you in football?

A: Well, it would be great if I could make the team and we could play a couple of years together.

Q: Have you noticed when you come home to Erie all the Iowa gear and all the Colts gear?

A: Yeah, it's awesome. I love it. But you've got to give credit to Bob. He started all of it at Iowa and he started all of it with the Colts. I just kind of rode in behind him both places. He gets all the credit for it.

Q: What do you tell your family when they call and ask how things are going?

A: I say the same thing every day: It's going all right, and I don't know what's going on. That's all I give them. They get mad, but I tell them I don't have much information. They don't tell us much. It's tough.

Q: Is that tough, not hearing?

A: It is, knowing I could walk into the locker room right now and be headed back. I was walking to lunch (Tuesday) with one of my buddies, and they sent him home. It's tough.

Q: Do you recall your first conversation with Peyton Manning?

A: Not really. I've talked to him a little bit. The other day we were giving him crap about his new commercial, the one where he has the mustache and the wig.

Q: But he can get away with that stuff, huh?

A: Yeah, he can.