Waiting to Play

Short of being the first, second or third player chosen in the NFL draft, the wait for everyone else seems longer with each selection that’s made. For everyone other than the next player chosen, that is.

The draft has morphed into a major prime time event, and when it kicked off this year on April 28^th, there were, as there is every year, a core group of elite players projected to be first round picks.

One of those “locks” was Hawthorn Woods’ Anthony Castonzo. What made him special on a local level was that he would become the first Illinois player from a high school in Lake County to be drafted in the first round. Ever.

“Yeah, sure, I was aware of it. It was talked about enough so that I knew. There was some discussion about it before the draft,” said Castonzo.

In discussing it, Castonzo made it clear that he is unfazed by the media hoopla.

“I don’t believe in the hype,” he said. “I hold myself to a higher standard. There’s no guarantee in this game. I still have to prove myself. I haven’t even walked onto the field yet to practice.”

With the ongoing lockout - the result of the now-dissolved NFL Player’s Union and the team owners locking horns over how to divide the ever-burgeoning TV revenue, along with several other ancillary issues - it could be awhile before Castonzo and the rest of his rookie class get an opportunity to practice in an official, team-sanctioned capacity.

Castonzo was the 22^nd player drafted in the first round, the third offensive tackle chosen after South Carolina junior Tyron Smith was selected ninth by Dallas, and Colorado senior Nate Solder was the 17^th pick by New England. The Indianapolis Colts decided that he was the right fit to protect quarterback Peyton Manning.

While his intensely competitive nature impelled him to want to go as high in the draft as possible - a quality that defines any highly successful athlete - Castonzo is genuinely thrilled to be a member of the Colts.

“I was ecstatic going to the Colts organization,” he said. “They’re a first-rate organization, really well-run and professional. They have great players, and of course a great quarterback.”

Castonzo will be assigned to ensure that arguably the greatest quarterback who ever played the game will continue to get as much time as possible to pass the football. One of the benefits that Manning has enjoyed for most of his career has been a stout, nearly impenetrable O-line, so it’s a safe bet that Castonzo was someone they thought very highly of.

“I started hearing from my agent (Ryan Fodor) that it looked like Indianapolis would take me if I was still available,” recounts Castonzo in the minutes leading up to his selection. “So I knew that if another team didn’t take me, I was probably going to the Colts. And then I got the call from (Colt’s general manager) Bill Pullman.”

There’s another bonus for the Hawthorn Woods native in playing for the Colts. “Indianapolis is only three and a half hours from Chicago. That’s great for my family because it makes it easier to get to games and it also makes it easier for me to come home and visit.”

Castonzo currently lives at home with his parents, in the house in Hawthorn Woods where he grew up. His parents, Shari and Bill, own Oregano’s, an Italian restaurant in Hawthorn Woods, where his draft night party was held.

Castonzo opted to watch the proceedings at home, surrounded by his immediate family, including his brother Billy, and sisters Kristyn and Carissa, as well as assorted aunts, uncles, cousins and friends of the family. Among the group was former Super Bowl Bears player Jim Morrissey, a family friend. Morrissey’s son, Mike, a Stevenson High School alumnus, was one of Castonzo's teammates at Boston.

“It was great to have the support of my family and friends. It made the whole process, the waiting, a lot more bearable. It ended up being a couple of hours, so I’m glad I decided to do it that way,” said Castonzo, explaining why he preferred to watch the draft from his home base.

Much has been written about Castonzo’s massive food intake, which has been greatly abetted by his mother’s home-cooked meals.

“Pretty much all I do is eat and work out,” said Castonzo, “and it’s a definite plus to eat my mom’s cooking and all of the great family dishes that I’ve grown up with.”  

That routine has allowed the 6-7 tackle to attain a weight of 311 pounds. Castonzo’s intense, disciplined workout regimen has given him a massive yet ripped frame. He’s one of very few offensive linemen who has a six-pack.

If Castonzo does have any time on his hands, he’s partially to blame for that predicament. The Boston College biochemistry major maintained a 4.0 grade point average and finished his studies a semester early in December. Unlike many of his classmates, he’s been out of school for close to six months.

After the draft, Castonzo received several calls from his new Colts teammates, including other members of the O-line, as well as Manning.

“Yeah, I talked with some of the offensive line guys about making arrangements to start practicing around Indianapolis. So that’s what I’m waiting to do, to figure out when we’ll start practicing.”

For Castonzo, his impending pro career is the culmination of a boyhood dream.

“It’s always been my goal to play in the NFL," he said. "My sophomore year in high school is when I realized that I had a shot at making it. That’s when I really started to believe I could do it.”

If you saw Castonzo as a high school freshman, you would have met someone who was significantly smaller than the behemoth he’s become. At 5-10 and 175 pounds, few scouts would have predicted he would some day play at a Division I college, much less as an offensive tackle in the NFL.

“I’m carrying about sixty pounds over what I would weigh if I didn’t play football,” said Castonzo.

With no Division I colleges interested in Castonzo after he graduated from Lake Zurich, he decided to play as a fifth-year senior at a military prep school in Massachusetts. It was a calculated risk, and it paid off. By then close to his present size and weight, he had a solid fifth-year senior year and drew the attention of more than a few Division I schools, including Stanford, University of Connecticut and Virginia.

“I loved Boston College, and being in Boston. It’s a great city,” said Castonzo. “I became very familiar with the North End, where a lot of the great Italian restaurants are.”

Besides playing for and being a fan of the Lake Zurich Bears football team, Castonzo is also a lifelong fan of that other Bears football team, the one that calls Soldier Field home.

“Yeah, all my life, I’ve always been a Bears fan,” said Castonzo. “Growing up and watching them play was a big inspiration for me.”

The way he sees it, there won’t be a conflict of interest in remaining a Bears fan. “No, I don’t see a problem there. I’ll still be rooting for them. Except when they play the Colts.”