Ohio Valley Conference

MSU's Shane Andrus

Shane Andrus, a former all-American kicker for the Murray State Racers, signed a free-agent contract this week with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.

Since his last season in 2002, Andrus had spent many a solitary afternoon at Roy Stewart Stadium and the MSU practice fields working out with the hope that someday he would get a chance to prove himself at the highest level.

That call came last week when Andrus was invited to Indianapolis to try out.

"I got a new agent about two months ago, Farrell Elliott, and he works in Louisville and has good ties with people in the NFL," Andrus said.

"He sent out a DVD with some of my highlights and of my workouts, and the Colts asked me to come up for a workout and they liked what I did."

Andrus, who was working as a mortgage banker with First Omni Mortgage Lending Co. in Louisville, liked what he was doing, but didn't think twice about trading his business suit for a shot at wearing an NFL uniform.

"The thought that I was wasting my time always crossed my mind, but deep down, I knew I could do it," Andrus said. "For kickers, it's about being at the right place at the right time, and this time it worked out.

"Since I was little, I always dreamed of playing a pro sport; that's all I really wanted to do. I like to train hard, and all the hard work paid off."

Andrus potentially will get a three-year contract with the Colts, contingent on him making the club once training camp begins.

He'll begin training full time at the Colts practice facility in Indianapolis on April 4.

Andrus will attend mini-camp in July, followed quickly by the main summer camp later in the month. Andrus said the Colts are looking at him possibly taking over the kickoff duties.

Mike Vanderjagt, an eight-year veteran of the NFL, has been the field-goal kicker for the Colts since 1998.

Jose Cortez took over for Dave Rayner on Colts kickoffs in mid-season, and will both will be Andrus's competition for the job next season.

At Murray State, Andrus won all-America honors from the Sports Network in 2001 when he made 15 of 22 field-goal attempts and all 21 extra-point attempts.

In 2002, he made the greatest kick in Murray State history, a 52-yarder against Eastern Illinois as time expired to give the Racers a spot in the I-AA playoffs and a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title.

Andrus finished his MSU career making 26 of 36 field-goal attempts and he made 68 of 69 extra-point attempts.