The Pittsburgh Steelers selected former West Virginia University offensive lineman Zach Frazier (right) in the second round of the draft. (Photo credit: BlueGoldNews.com)
MORGANTOWN, WV — Take a moment to understand how West Virginia All-American center Zach Frazier was drafted to be the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers from the moment he first stepped on the practice field. Sho.
Yes, he was a second round draft pick, but he was no ordinary second round draft pick. He's as special a player as he was touted when some put him in the first round of mock drafts and probably felt the Steelers had to on the offensive line. It was an important element of the reconstruction.
They took a bit of a gamble by waiting until the second round to take him, but general manager Omar Khan admitted that in an interview on the WDVE Morning Show.
“The reality is we're going through this just like everyone else.” Mr Khan said. “I don't know who the guys in front of us are picking. Obviously, it's well documented that (Frazier) is the guy we were targeting. We talked about promoting, but obviously That didn't happen.”
As a result, there were many anxious moments.
“I think it was Washington who had the time ahead of us, but we were pretty much waiting in suspense to see who they were going to pick. Zach was still there, and he was there and I I can't tell you how excited we were to select him. He's a Steeler.”
They reminisced about the glory days of Super Bowl championship teams and even thought they might be able to accomplish what they must have at center: an exceptional player.
The Steelers have a rich history at the position, none more so than the late Mike Webster, who anchored Chuck Noll's offense in the 1970s and 1980s and is considered by some to be the greatest center of all time. . He played in nine Pro Bowls, was a mainstay on four Super Bowl championship teams, and was inducted into the Canton Hall of Fame.
He was a blue-collar fit for the offense and the city it represented.
He was the middle player not only on the offensive line, but also in the great Steeler center triumvirate, behind Ray Mansfield, who held the position for 180 games, and Dermonty, who changed the way he played his position. -Appeared before Dawson. He appeared in seven Pro Bowls, six of them consecutively, and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team in the 1990s.
Regardless, the shoes Frazier will be issued with in training camp will be difficult to fill, no matter what size he is.
The importance of Frazier's success to the Steelers may be best understood through the philosophy set forth by Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown.
When Brown started for the Cleveland Browns in the old National Football League, they were two championships ahead of Frank. “gunner” Gatsuki, a Farmington native, became the starting center after playing at Marshall.
In his first year with the Browns, the Browns went 15-0, and Gatski dominated the Browns' early years in the NFL, playing until he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Centers were never important to Brown, and when he joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968, his first pick in the draft was Bob Johnson, an All-American center from Tennessee.
“When you start playing soccer, you start with the first thing.” Brown told reporters on draft day. “Having Johnson under center and working with (quarterback) John Stouffer, who we already acquired (through the NFL Expansion Draft), is like strengthening the middle of a baseball team. It's like having a pitcher work with you.”
That's the path the Steelers are taking with Frazier, who like Johnson wore No. 54 at West Virginia. They brought in veteran quarterback Russell Wilson, who may remind Frazier of his time working in front of Garrett Green.
The idea behind choosing a center correctly when building a team is that centers usually have long careers and are the leaders and glues that hold the offense together. They must be intelligent, durable, and have a leadership mindset.
When Brown drafted Johnson, he said: “This ensures that he can play professional football for a long time.”
In that respect, Frazier appears to be emulating Johnson, who spent 11 years with the Bengals.
Of course, times were different back then, as evidenced by the fact that by the day after the draft, Johnson's father went out and bought season tickets for the family to play against the Bengals. Each case cost him $54…now you know why they keep calling. “The good old days.”
Like Frazier, Johnson excelled in the classroom as well as on the field, graduating summa cum laude with an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee.
He appears to be a perfect fit for both the Steelers and Frazier, and history suggests he is hungry to regain his place in the NFL hierarchy and continue playing in front of fans if possible. He will probably stick with the team that is doing so. Mountaineer fans themselves are just as enthusiastic.
