National Football League

Get to Know an Offensive Lineman: Colts' Anthony Castonzo, Barbarian with a refined side

Published Sep. 18, 2014 11:18 a.m. ET

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Busy with dirty work in the trenches, offensive linemen don't get the glory enjoyed by "skilled" players. In fact, if their number gets called at all, that usually means they've screwed up. They don't get drafted to fantasy teams, and the casual NFL fan can probably name no more than a few big men up front.

We here at The Buzzer want to give NFL offensive linemen a voice and some semblance of glory. So we've asked several of the league's top offensive linemen to let us get to know them better. We asked the questions, they gave us the answers. Each week at The Buzzer, we'll help you "Get To Know An Offensive Lineman."

FOX Sports: Who's the smelliest guy in your locker room? And please describe the odor.

Anthony Castonzo: Laron Landry is the only guy who consistently has a smell to him.  However, it is usually quite pleasant, as he will never be caught without some cologne on. The smell itself changes depending on his fragrance for that day.

FS: What's the best or most unique locker room prank you've witnessed?

AC: Best prank I've ever seen was my rookie year. During camp, someone managed to get the special teams coach's keys to his car. When we woke up in the morning, in the courtyard outside of our dorms there was his car packed to the brim with packing peanuts and completely wrapped with plastic wrap. It was masterfully done, and clearly took some planning.

FS: Which defensive player is the best trash talker that you've encountered at the line of scrimmage? Any memorable lines?

AC: Against the Lions my second year in the league, we were getting ready to kick an extra point. The guard playing next to me was a shorter guy with a very stout body type. One of the guys on the defensive line yells out to him, "Hey, don't you have a movie coming out this week?" and the other guy goes "Oh, ya, he does have a movie coming out this week." My buddy goes "What are you talking about?" The dude goes, "The Hobbit comes out this week!" I had a good chuckle at that one, given it's creativity and accuracy (the Hobbit did actually get released that week).

FS: Most memorable block of your NFL career?

AC: It would have to be the very first pass block of my NFL career. I was lined up against Mario Williams and I just jump set him and got my hands on him as fast as possible. While it may not have been pretty, I got the job done against one of the league's premier pass rushers. Felt pretty good.

FS: When's the last time you touched the football in an actual game? What did you do with it?

AC: I don't remember the last one, but I've recovered a few fumbles in my career. As far as what I did with it, I just layed on it and squeezed as tightly as possible.

FS: Who's got the biggest appetite among the members of your team's O-Line? What does (or doesn't) he eat?

AC: I definitely make a run at this one. There's very little I won't eat and I love to eat.  However, I think Donald Thomas edges me out in the quantity category. He's a pickier eater though, and get's legitimately nauseous even at the thought of mayonnaise.

FS: Do you have a nickname?

AC: All my nicknames are name-derived, such as AC, Castonz, Stonz, Cazzie, Ant, Anth, Tony, etc. I have plenty of those, though.

FS: What would you like to do after your playing career?

AC: I'd like to travel the world and really see all that it has to offer, experiencing different cultures and cuisines. Then eventually I'd like to get back into the field of science. I really love science and the usage of scientific method to solve problems, so I can't see myself staying away from that forever.

FS: What was the highlight of your offseason?

AC: I took a trip to Athens and Mykonos. Ate some amazing food, spent time with great people, saw spectacular sites, and dove head-first into Greek culture. 

FS: Tell us something about life as an O-Lineman that the average fan probably doesn't know.

AC: The average fan looks at us as a bunch of Barbarians, which we are, but most of us has a refined side.  We really like the finer things, like quality food, comfort, style . . . you name it, really.

Past editions of "Get To Know An Offensive Lineman": Chance Warmack l Kyle Long l Evan Mathis l Geoff Schwartz | Josh Sitton

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