He spent a decade-plus catching passes from Peyton Manning, so let's forgive Reggie Wayne if he's still getting to know Andrew Luck.
Luck is present at this week's mandatory minicamp with the Indianapolis Colts after missing the team's recent string of OTAs due to academic requirements at Stanford. Wayne acknowledged the quarterback's absence was costly.
"Not ideal," Wayne recently told The Indianapolis Star. "You'd like to have had some time to get out there with him and work."
Reporters were treated to a taste of the on-field ability that compelled the Colts to select Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The Star marked him at 25-of-42 passing during Tuesday's 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven drills, noting his ability to weave the ball through traffic to Wayne and Austin Collie. Luck also missed on a handful of reads.
"You're talking about everything," Wayne told the newspaper. "Timing, just knowing each other. Everybody is going to run routes different. The quarterback has to get a feel for that. That takes time. As a receiver, you want to know, 'Is he going to throw a tight spiral or is he going to throw some ducks?' Just looking at him on TV, we know he can throw a college football. We don't know how good he can throw a pro football."
We expect Luck to "throw a pro football" without any issues come September. Ample time remains to develop a flow with Wayne and the offense. A little rust in June is expected.
For his part, Wayne must hold back from the temptation to compare Luck to Manning, even internally. The Colts will know before long what they have in Luck, and we doubt Wayne will be disappointed.
