Tragedy has gripped the football world again. Just three days before the NFL draft kicks in, the scouts take a break from the usual mind maps on the potential first, second, and third-round picks. Colts’ general manager Chris Ballard opened his pre-draft news conference with zero perspective on their draft. Ballard looked awkwardly indifferent and a little zoned out on April 21. Fans could easily wonder, did the ever-energetic chap just miss the shot of his morning coffee? But in reality, GM Ballard just took some moments to empathize with the unbearable pain of the program’s scouting director.

No spark, no competition, no strategy to go buy the best! A slow and gloomy morning hit the readers hard at their core. This doesn’t match the football freak’s vibe at all. But life and sports have one thing in common: uncertainty. One minute, everything is sweet and sugary, and the next, suddenly, it takes a pear shape out of nowhere. The Colts’ football community has undergone something similar this weekend. “Before I start, we had a very unfortunate, sad incident happen to one of our scouts,” Ballard addressed the fans and updated on the misery before the conference went on air with his voice trembling. The ambience of the room immediately shifted as the GM spilled the tragedy in detail.

“It was a hard week for all of us. For Matt Terpening, and our prayers go out to Matt and his two daughters,” Chris poured heartfelt condolences after enlightening the world about Matt Terpenning’s wife, Coral Terpening’s untimely demise. Gradually, the gloom shook out like a devastating wildfire among the rest of the college football community.

Oklahoma general manager, Jim Nagy, turned out to be one of those who reached out and left his wishes and prayers for the departed soul on the air. “Heartbreaking news last week that Terp’s wife suddenly passed. Terp is one of the best and universally well-liked guys in the scouting profession,” Nagy continued spouting remorse, “Praying for his family and  @colts front office during this difficult time.”

Coral breathed her last unexpectedly on April 12 while she was busy enjoying a volleyball tournament with her daughters in Louisville. The mother of two wore many hats professionally. From an ICU nurse, taking care of the patients, to a volleyball youth coach, the lady took life at 2x speed and gave her all in a very short 45-year trip on this earth. The loss is unbearable. Time won’t heal the people who had the luck to have a taste of her infectious energy, the purity and versatility of the soul.

All it can do is to let the world learn how to live with the pain. The air of grief in the Terpening family, however, will directly affect the Colts’ draft scene too.

Terpening family tragedy makes the Colts’ scouting room pay the price 

Wanna know the top secrets of the Colts’ on-point draft decisions each season? The one-point picks, background analysis, through perspectives on various subject matter were mostly the brainchild of their legendary scouting artist, Matt Terpening.

The true architect behind the Colts’ coveted draft board is fighting through a trauma that he didn’t see coming even a week before. He was instrumental inside the Colt building, guiding and leading Ballard through the sea of draft intel for over a decade. Now, what about the running year’s loaded homework? Did you hear the recent picks, Michael Pittman Jr., Kwity Paye, and Jonathan Taylor? Well, the credit goes to your go-to scouting director on some highly productive Sunday. He knows the program from the core and can pick exactly the missing pieces in the puzzle even with his eyes closed.

This year, he did his job shaping up the tight ends room with names like Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. Going forward, Ballard will pull the string with Matt’s vision working in his mind, but his physical presence can make a great difference in the Colts’ scouting panel. And, not gonna lie – It will make an impact, we just need to see how Ballard can fill in his shoes at the best of his ability to keep the loss at a minimum.