Darius Rush: Indianapolis Colts Rookie Files

Rush was born on February 22, 2000, in Kingstree, S.C. Rush began playing sports as soon as his age would allow. His athletic potential was seen early on in whatever sport he was playing.

Rush was involved in football, basketball, baseball, track, and even golf growing up. But his true love was football, the sport he showed the most promise in.

He was routinely the best player on the field throughout elementary and middle school. For many middle school teams, the best player usually plays quarterback. While he may be a cornerback now, Rush started as a signal-caller.

Before Rush enrolled at C.E. Murray High School, tragedy struck for the 13-year-old. His father passed away suddenly, leaving a giant hole in the Rush family. Thankfully, Rush and his older brother Marcus had a strong, loving mother in Sonja Rush-Harvin, who kept the family together during this challenging time.

Rush began his career at C.E. Murray with a bang as he was immediately named a starter on varsity as a freshman. He started at quarterback and cornerback, becoming the best two-way player on the team. As a sophomore, he added wide receiver to his list of positions and helped lead C.E. Murray to their first-ever state championship game.

Rush added even more positions as a junior in 2016. He took snaps at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, cornerback, kicker, punter, and kick returner. The result? 622 rushing yards, 228 receiving yards, 94 passing yards, and 18 total touchdowns (12 rushing, three receiving, two kickoff returns, one interception return). Rush also added 36 tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble on the defensive side of the ball.

2016 was also a big year for his mother. Sonja, who worked at C.E. Murray as an athletic team assistant and curriculum specialist, was named the 2016 USA Football Mom of the Year for her work with students and athletes. Sonja was chosen from a group of over 2,000 women nominated nationally for the award.

As a senior, Rush and coach Chad Wilkes determined that it would be better for him to focus on fewer positions. Playing wide receiver and cornerback, Rush earned Region 5-A Player of the Year honors with 47 catches for 863 yards and 17 touchdowns. He added 44 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble as a cornerback, and another kick return touchdown.

Rush was truly a jack of all trades for C.E. Murray and earned a three-star ranking for his work as a wide receiver. While schools like Miami (Ohio) and Old Dominion came calling, Rush committed to the University of South Carolina as soon as they offered. He was going to his dream school.

"I grew up a Gamecock," Rush told GamecockCentral.com. "It's where I grew up, family went there, I just love being a Gamecock since I was little. It's exciting. I always wanted to be a Gamecock and my dream came true today."

While Rush had committed to his dream school, he faced an uphill battle to make it on the field. Rush was one of the lowest-rated recruits in the Gamecocks' 2018 recruiting class. A reason for that was Rush could not focus on one position.

But now at South Carolina, Rush could focus strictly on wide receiver. Or so he thought.

Rush redshirted his freshman year with the Gamecocks. After participating in spring practices and throughout the summer, he was injured for most of the fall and kept off the field.

Rush was ready to make an impact as a redshirt freshman and began fall camp with the wide receivers. But things still were not working out, and Gamecocks head coach at the time, Will Muschamp, thought Rush would have more opportunities if he moved to a position he had played throughout high school: cornerback.

The switch came in the middle of fall camp, and Rush began working with the cornerbacks. There would be an adjustment period as Rush transitioned back to the defensive side of the ball. Over the next two seasons, Rush would register just 11 tackles as he was used primarily on special teams.

The 2021 season saw a change at head coach, with Shane Beamer taking over at South Carolina. It was also a fresh start for Rush, who, after two years as a special teamer, was ready for an expanded role. Rush impressed Beamer and defensive coordinator Clayton White and earned a starting job for the first time.

As a redshirt junior, Rush tallied 25 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, an interception, and nine pass deflections. His senior season was even better, as Rush racked up 38 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and nine pass deflections. Rush had become an ascending star on the Gamecocks' defense and seemed to be hitting his stride.

Rush also experienced success in the classroom. He was on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll for three years and graduated with a degree in sports and entertainment management.

With the momentum of the past couple of seasons at cornerback, a career in the NFL seemed like a real possibility. Rush declared for the NFL draft and was ready to prove he belonged at the next level.

The pre-draft process got off to a hot start for Rush at the Reese's Senior Bowl. Rush stuck with almost every wide receiver in Mobile, making things difficult for whoever he matched up with. His size, speed, and length were on full display.

Rush impressed coaches and players alike, earning practice player of the week for the cornerback position on the American team. His performance throughout the week helped pique the interest of cornerback-needy teams who wondered what else the two-year starter could do.

Rush had another chance to show off his athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The cornerback group at the Combine is always one of the fastest and most athletic positions in the entire event. In a group filled with athletes, Rush shined.

Measuring in at almost 6'2" and 198 pounds, Rush ran a 4.36 40-yard dash, which registered as one of the fastest in his group. His 35-inch vertical and 10'1" broad jump showed off his explosiveness.

Rush had proven to teams that he was the total package physically. He was a tall, long cornerback with great speed and athleticism who could stick with practically any receiver in man coverage. The word was getting around about the kid from Kingstree.

When the 2023 NFL Draft arrived, Rush was seen as a Day 2 pick. It would not shock anyone if he was taken in the second or third rounds with the type of potential he possessed.

But Day 2 came and went, and Rush was still on the board. While Rush and his agent felt he would still be drafted, they did not expect to wait this long.

As Day 3 began, Rush was anxious about where he would end up. When the fifth round began, sitting at pick No.138, Rush received a call from a 317 area code. It was the Colts who were taking their chance on a kid just scratching the surface of his potential.

"Darius Rush we really liked," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said after the draft. "I mean, he’s an athletic, long corner – kind of fits our profile. A converted wideout so he’s got ball skills. He can play the deep ball. He’s kind of a guy that we had even talked about taking him in the fourth."

With the Colts cutting ties with Isaiah Rodgers Sr. after he was suspended by the NFL for gambling on games, Rush could be asked to contribute sooner than expected. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Rush brings the big, athletic profile the Colts love with their cornerbacks. His size allows him to be physical with bigger wide receivers, yet he has the speed to stick with speedy, smaller receivers. He also does not draw penalties, as he was only flagged twice in his career at South Carolina.

Rush also uses his background as a wide receiver to his advantage. He has great ball skills and attacks the football at the catch point. As he continues to improve as a cornerback, these skills should help him become a ballhawk in the Colts' secondary.

While Rush has plenty of potential, he is still fairly raw in his development. With only two years of starting experience at cornerback in college, he will need to continue developing his game to be a consistent starter. Missed tackles is also an area he will need to clean up.

But with Rodgers no longer with the team, Rush figures to compete with Dallis Flowers for one of the starting outside cornerback spots in Gus Bradley's defense. Rush has already impressed coaches this spring with his work ethic, and he made one of the plays of OTAs when he had a would-be pick-6 of Sam Ehlinger. Rush will be given every opportunity to earn the starting job throughout training camp and the preseason and must show he is ready on the field.

Rush finally found a home at the cornerback position, leading him to realize his dream of playing in the NFL. Whether as a quarterback, wide receiver, or even a kicker, Rush always found a way to be successful and help his team win.

Now as a cornerback in the NFL, it seems Rush not finding success as begins his journey with the Colts.

More Rookie Files

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• CB JuJu Brents
• WR Josh Downs
• OT Blake Freeland
• DE Adetomiwa Adebawore

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