Already a Pro-Bowler and first-team All-Pro as a rookie, Nelson is considered the best interior lineman in the NFL.
Photo courtesy coltswire.com
By Vincent Landolfi Jr.
It seems these days everyone is talking about Quenton Nelson, the All-Pro sophomore left guard from the Indianapolis Colts. And it’s no surprise. This young man, age 23, who just six years ago was named to the All-Shore and All-State football teams and played in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl, is perhaps the best offensive lineman in the National Football League right now.
As the former Casey’s reputation spreads, the conversations about Nelson’s dominance and success are not just swirling around the his hometown of Holmdel and alma mater Red Bank Catholic (’14), but across the entire country and especially in the extensive media coverage of the NFL. Kevin Hickey of coltswire.com wrote that, “Just a year removed from being the sixth overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, Quenton Nelson is establishing himself as arguably the best guard in the entire NFL.”
After the Colts’ stunning upset of the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Oct. 6 in front of a national audience, everyone wanted to know the recipe for the Indianapolis victory. One of its main ingredients, they decided, was a vicious running attack led by the offensive line and Nelson. Hickey noted that Nelson’s performance in that game “was a run-blocking clinic.”
During the telecast of the game on NBC, color commentator and former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chris Collinsworth, exalted Nelson as “one of the most exciting players in the game… and he’s a lineman!” A little later on, during the post-game coverage on ESPN, Trey Wingo, the veteran football TV journalist and host of “Golic and Wingo,” “SportsCenter,” and “NFL Live,” challenged his late-night audience to “attack your Monday the same way Quenton Nelson attacked this pull.” The accompanying video was of the Colts No. 56 blocking a Chiefs linebacker with such speed and force he knocked the defender off his feet. This, in the annals of football nomenclature, is known as a pancake, because the opposing defensive player ends up flat on his back.
“He is accumulating so many pancakes he has to be careful of his carbohydrate intake,” said Nelson’s high school strength and conditioning coach Joe McAuliffe, of JMPowerU.
But the most in-depth analysis of how the former University of Notre Dame 2017 MVP and All-American guard is able to perform these Herculean tasks came Monday morning after the Colts racked up over 200 yards rushing against the Chiefs. “He’s my new obsession! You shouldn’t be able to do this in the pros. He just levels this guy…he had no shot,” said co-host Peter Schrager during an episode of “NFL Live” in a millennial-intended segment called “Cool Plays, Bro” subtitled “Inside Quenton Nelson’s Dominant Night in Kansas City.” And immediately after the video replay showing Nelson deck a Kansas City defensive lineman, Schrager cut to highlights of Nelson, all 6-foot-5, 295 pounds of him, in high school playing basketball for RBC.
You see, this rather large, extremely tough, violently strong NFL lineman has what is known as “good feet.” His foot speed and quickness matured by playing basketball throughout his life, from 3-on-3 games with his siblings and parents, to recreation teams in town, and finally on the varsity squad at Red Bank Catholic. The very quick footwork Nelson developed, especially for a man his size, is one of the characteristics that came as a pleasant surprise to all of the Division I coaches who stopped by the Eck Center at RBC to watch him play hoops. They marveled at his ability to gracefully drive with the ball, shoot from the perimeter, dive for loose balls, and, oh yes, set an occasional pick or two.
According to Nelson’s father Craig, his youngest son is able to help maintain his youthful flexibility and body control by implementing a strict, arduous regiment of stretching. “Quenton will stretch for a full 30 minutes before a lift,” the elder Nelson said, “complete his workout, and then stretch another 30.”
The swift, aggressive Nelson, also maintains his coordination and quickness by applying the techniques of tae kwon do, with its emphasis on speed and agility, to his repertoire. Yoga, which by definition means to harness or join together, is also a part of what keeps this world-class athlete in tip-top shape.
Playing guard in the NFL, just like at Notre Dame and in high school, requires a quick first step or two. In the case of this All-Pro guard, who weighs in now at around 325 pounds, his quickness allows him to angle block down on a defensive lineman, fire out to a linebacker a few yards off the ball, or pull from his line position around one end or the other to knock unsuspecting defensive backs into next week, faster than anyone else at his position.
The result of all that speed times mass, hurling through space on the football field, was perhaps summed up best by USA Today’s Colts reporter Luke Easterling who stated simply, “Colts guard Quenton Nelson is a massive, screaming, wrecking ball.”
Indeed, he is that.
With his line-mate on the left side, Anthony Costanza, the Colts’ veteran tackle, and the rest of the offensive line, Nelson’s goal is to help advance Indy’s cause to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.
