Chad Simpson touched the ball just three times in the Indianapolis Colts’ 30-16 loss to the Washington Redskins in the preaseason-opening Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

But two carries for 10 yards and a catch for 11 more was enough for the former standout running back at Morgan State to get noticed by Colts coach Tony Dungy.

“A lot of good individual performances,” Dungy said. “We wanted to see our young backs and I thought Chad Simpson and Mike Hart both did a good job.”

Last fall, Simpson rushed for a Morgan State-record 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns on 276 carries and gained numerous All-American honors. His 127.5 rushing yards per game ranked ninth in the Football Championship Subdivision and his 161.8 all-purpose yards per game were second.

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Scouts said native of Miami was too slow and too small. But the 5-foot-10, 216-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds at the NFL Combine and reportedly ran it as fast as 4.35 seconds in a workout for the Miami Dolphins.

It wasn’t enough to get him selected in April’s NFL Draft.

On the final day of the draft, however, Dungy called Simpson and said the Colts wanted to give him a chance — and Simpson is running with it.

“I’ve been working so hard, and have been the underdog all my life,” Simpson said. “It’s just going out there and being me. Going out there is what got me to this point in the first place.”

But the Colts’ backfield is crowded.

The team drafted Michigan all-time leading rusher Mike Hart in the sixth-round and also has Joseph Addai, who made the Pro Bowl last season, eight-year veteran Dominic Rhodes and second-year veterans Kenton Keith and Clifton Dawson.

Addai is assured to make the roster, but Rhodes has had recent legal trouble and signed a one-year deal worth about $600,000 this spring after ending a disappointing stint with the Oakland Raiders. Keith, the team’s second-string running back last season, was arrested outside of a night club this offseason and Dawson was cut by the Colts and Bengals last year.

Hart appears to be Simpson’s main competition for a roster spot after he rushed for 53 yards on four carries against the Redskins and took Simpson’s place late in the fourth quarter when he appeared to land awkwardly on his leg following a tackle.

But Simpson has one major skill that Hart doesn’t: returning kicks.

In his sophomore year at South Florida — before he transferred to Morgan State for his final two years — he finished the 2005 season ranked in the top 25 in kickoff returns, averaging 25.6 yards per attempt and took one back 94 yards for a touchdown in a 45-14 upset of ninth-ranked Louisville. Against the Redskins, he lined up deep for kickoff returns several times, but the ball never sailed his direction.

“There are always surprises — a player who you didn’t think was doing so well in camp, the lights go on and he does particularly well,” Colts President Bill Polian told reporters. “It’s always a very interesting process and I look forward to it.”

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com