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Left Tackle Stalwart Anthony Castonzo Blossoming Into Leader

Intro: When it comes to the Colts left tackle position, there’s hardly a worry with Anthony Castonzo blocking Andrew Luck’s blindside.

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INDIANAPOLIS – He plays the most prominent offensive line position in the NFL, yet might be the least talked about Colts lineman this offseason.

That's a good thing for Anthony Castonzo.

Pro Bowl nods or end of the season accolades are something so far from the mind of the Colts left tackle.

Ask anyone inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center and the praise for Castonzo is about as consistent as his play.

"Week-after-week, not only is Anthony, in my opinion, one of the more elite left tackles in the NFL...if you get to know him, he's just a great person," Colts offensive line coach Joe Gilbert says.

"I really feel fortunate that we have a guy like that."

It's a guy that led all NFL offensive linemen last year in snaps played at 1,155.

As matter of fact, the only snaps Castonzo has missed over the last three years came in the 2013 season finale versus Jacksonville with the Colts having wrapped up the AFC South.

Since 2012, Castonzo has logged more than 3,200 snaps and sat out less than a handful (none due to injury).

New free agent signee Todd Herremans is positioned next to Castonzo in the locker room and appreciates the work ethic in the leader of the Colts offensive line group.

"He's very serious about work," Herremans said of Castonzo.

"He works very hard on his technique. He's almost a perfectionist, which I think benefits him on the field."

Experience wise, Herremans is the elder statesmen in the Colts offensive line room.

It's Castonzo though that is developing into more of a leader with NFL season No. 5 on the horizon.

"I really think he's becoming more of a vocal guy," Gilbert says of his left tackle.

"He's always been a guy that was a lead by example because his work ethic, I test you, is as good as anybody in the NFL. The guy works his tail off, offseason, year around. It's good to see he's coming out of his shell and starting to take that (vocal leadership) role on."

Whether it's OTAs or during the season, Castonzo is routinely seen drilling by himself to the side, while interior linemen work with coaches.

That isn't lost on the young Colts linemen.

"When I first came in, (Castonzo) did carry himself as a leader and then just throughout (2014) he would speak up more," second-year center Jonotthan Harrison says. "If something was going wrong, he would pull someone aside and just talk to them. I've seen him take a lot of young tackles basically under his wing, coach them up, work on their technique with them.

"He's an admirable player."

A behind the scenes look at Anthony's 2015 photo shoot in the #ColtsPhotoGarage

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