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Ryan Kelly’s Not Only Blocking, But Building Rapport with Andrew Luck

By Luke Schultheis

Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) squares off in blocking drills against offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (74) during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) squares off in blocking drills against offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (74) during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Indianapolis Colts rookie center Ryan Kelly is building rapport with his new quarterback Andrew Luck, as the duo begins their budding relationship:

"“It’s been great,” said Ryan Kelly on his relationship with Andrew Luck Tuesday at mini-camp. “Certainly, I think taking one day at a time through OTA’s and obviously, off-the-field as well whether it’s eating or just talking about life. Trying to figure out what makes him tick.”“So, I think it’s obviously been a growing relationship, and we’re just looking forward to getting back on the field for three more days and mini-camp and continuing that before we go to the real thing.”"

Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) participates in blocking drills during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) participates in blocking drills during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

While the quarterback-center relationship is often very personal–in more ways than one, Kelly understands the importance of both positions as essentially the two-headed nucleus of the team’s offense.

While the quarterback calls the plays, it’s the center who typically makes the protection calls at the line of scrimmage.

"“I think certainly the quarterback and the center are two of the commanders for the offense,” added Kelly. “We’re kind of making checks based on what the defense shows. I think we certainly have to be on the page at all times to put our offense in the best situation to be successful, so the more we can click both on and off-the-field, I think it’s certainly going to make life a lot easier and we’ll be more successful on the field.”"

There’s no question that both Luck and Kelly have the brainpower to really form one of the smartest quarterback to center combinations in the entire NFL:

However, Luck’s innate intellect–even borderline nerdiness has already impressed the Colts young center in its own right:

"“One of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around, but he can connect with pretty much anybody,” concluded Kelly. “Wide topic kind of guy, so it’s been good, it’s been really good.”"

Hopefully, this budding relationship is only the beginning of great things to come for this brand new quarterback to center combination, as it’s only been a thing of beauty so far:

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