Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Breiden Fehoko (96) works against center Zach Frazier (54) during the NFL football team’s training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
By Will Graves
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH – Zach Frazier came to his first NFL training camp with the intention of leaving as the starting center.
The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie will do just that, even if it doesn’t go quite as he hoped.
Frazier, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, replaced veteran Nate Herbig at the top of the order on Tuesday after the Steelers placed Herbig on the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Herbig injured his shoulder on the final day of training camp at Saint Vincent College last week and did not play in Saturday’s 9-3 loss to Buffalo. Frazier got the nod in place of Herbig and was one of the bright spots in an otherwise shaky offensive line performance.
While in reality Frazier was always part of the long-term solution for a position that has been a revolving door since Maurkice Pouncey retired after the 2020 season, Frazier would have preferred to be a starter based on the quality of his play alone.
“I didn’t want to be a reserve player,” Frazier said. “I wanted to earn my place in the starting lineup. That’s just my attitude.”
Frazier, 22, started 37 consecutive games for the Mountaineers and played his home games just over an hour south of Pittsburgh. That proximity put him on the Steelers’ radar long before he developed into one of the best centers in the draft.
Guard James Daniels praised Frazier’s curiosity and said the rookie has no problem bouncing ideas off of his older, more experienced teammates. Frazier credited his relatively smooth transition (so far) to the NFL to Herbig, who accepted the role as Frazier’s mentor despite knowing full well that Frazier would ultimately take the starting job anyway.
“Honestly, he wouldn’t have had to help me at all in his position,” Frazier said. “And you know, without him, I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I am now.”
Frazier has received high praise from the coaching staff for the way he goes about his job. The Steelers need Frazier to hit the ground running. The offensive line has struggled to stay healthy and appear cohesive. Pittsburgh allowed four sacks against Buffalo last week, with tackle Broderick Jones – a first-round pick in 2023 – being hit twice in the first quarter alone.
Jones, who is wearing protective gear on his right elbow, said he is not 100% but described his issues as “minor.” Rookie tackle Troy Fautanu, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, is also battling knee problems.
Enter Frazier, who apparently has no major problems adjusting to the pace of the NFL.
“It’s still football,” he said. “You know, people are bigger, stronger, faster. But I feel like. I feel like I’m getting used to it.”
The physical adjustment may be the hardest part for Frazier, as he won four consecutive wrestling titles during his high school years and had a 3.88 grade-point average at WVU.
“I think (Frazier is) a very mature guy,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “It’s a lot. You ask a lot of your centers. But I would say of all our rookies, he’s probably the most prepared. And we thought when we drafted him and since he’s been in this building, he’s everything you’d expect him to be.”
NOTES: Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin will wait before deciding how much quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will play in Saturday’s final game of the season at Detroit — if they play at all. … RB Jaylen Warren will sit out the game because of a hamstring injury. Tomlin declined to speculate on whether Warren will be available for the season opener. … Pittsburgh made a few more roster moves Tuesday, signing defensive lineman Marcus Haynes and linebacker Kyahva Tezino and opting out of cornerback Anthony Averett’s contract.
