ANDERSON – Reports indicate the future of T.Y. Hilton as a Colt was again discussed on Wednesday.

While both parties remain staunch in their hopes to get a deal done for Hilton, before the start of the 2015 season, the Pro Bowl wide receiver is living in the present.

A fourth NFL season for Hilton brings added responsibility.

Gone is Reggie Wayne, the man Hilton followed around for the past three seasons.

Whether Hilton wants it or not, he is now viewed as a leader in arguably the most talented wide receiver room in all the NFL.

"Guys are starting to look up to me," Hilton, who has never been a big talker with the media, says.

"So for me, I have to lead by example, lead in the classroom and also on the field."

The field is definitely where Hilton does his best leading.

Putting up numbers no other Colts receiver ever has after three seasons helps Hilton have the respect he does, not only in this locker room, but around the NFL, too.

"Day one, since I've gotten here, (Hilton) has always impressed me," veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck says.

"He's not necessarily really vocal or anything like that, but how he attacks practice---he just has a joy about him coming into practice. I've never seen him tired or worn out. He leads by example that way. With him obviously being one of the veteran guys in that group, a little more is probably expected out of him this year."

Hasselbeck doesn't think that means Hilton will completely revamp his personality anytime soon.

No, T.Y. will be T.Y., particularly on the gridiron.

"What he does for us is he makes plays," Hasselbeck says of "The Ghost".

"He has an intensity at practice that sets the standard, that's what's great about him."

The intensity at practice has been evident in Anderson the past four Augusts.

Hilton and Andrew Luck have had a clear rapport, dating back to an injury-plagued rookie Training Camp for the wide receiver out of Florida International.

At 5-9, Hilton's ability to maintain his consistency since entering the NFL doesn't typically happen to players of his size.

Hilton's "non-elite" measurables definitely shied teams away from taking him back in 2012, but Pep Hamilton says you have to dig deeper to see why there's a 2014 Pro Bowl wide receiver making life easier for the entire Colts offense.

"T.Y. has exceptional special awareness," Hamilton says. "It's one of those things that's somewhat innate. He can feel or sense when bodies are around him and then you have to consider that he has exceptional body control as well. He has made some amazing plays over the course of his young career and I think the sky is the limit for T. Y.

"T.Y. is a guy that has field credibility around here and our quarterback has a lot of trust in him."