Mason Cole spent the majority of his college career playing left tackle for the Michigan Wolverines. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting center only played that position during his junior year while in college. In other words, he knows a little something about being moved around to where others think you might be best suited.
It’s a familiar theme for Kendrick Green, like Cole a former third-round draft pick, who started as a rookie only to find himself on the bench a year later when he was replaced by, in this case, a starter returning from injury. In Green’s case, he was replaced by Cole coming in as a free agent. But Cole knows what he’s been going through, and has been speaking to him. He shared some of that advice, courtesy of Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“You have to have versatility”, he said. “That time I spent on the bench, I learned from veterans. I learned how they prepared for games, how they take care of their bodies. There’s always something to learn, no matter what position you are in this building. I told him that. I told him to learn what he can from the older guys — how they condition, how their attitude is, how they process things. There’s so much to learn in this game. You can never stop”.
Green was primarily an offensive guard during his college career after converting from playing on the defensive line. He started four games at center there, however, and that’s what the Steelers wanted him to do after their All-Pro starter, Maurkice Pouncey, retired.
Though many felt that way at the time, it’s especially obvious in hindsight that it wasn’t entirely reasonable to expect Green to step into the starting lineup at center right away. It wasn’t even clear if he was starter material, let alone starter material at center.
Now he’s fighting for a backup center job after losing a starting competition a year ago at left guard to Kevin Dotson. He told reporters that he’s been working exclusively at center thus far, reacquainting himself with the position, though he doesn’t know if that will be the plan for the rest of the offseason.
Right now, the Steelers don’t really have a backup center option to be excited about. They allowed J.C. Hassenauer to walk in free agency for unknown reasons, who manned that job for the past couple of years, even over B.J. Finney. Green will have to prove he can do it, but this time he has a mentor in his corner in Cole.
“My rookie year didn’t have anybody to lean on”, he told reporters, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Mason’s played a lot of football and played a lot of center. He’s helped me out a ton. Coach Pat [Meyer] is great. I’m kind of getting better coaching now, too”.
The Steelers’ offensive line coach during Green’s rookie season was Adrian Klemm, his only year in the role after being an assistant for two years. He described Meyer’s coaching philosophy as more center-friendly.
While things didn’t work out for him at guard last year, it is easier to hide a lack of size at center. That’s why at one point in 2012 when there was an injury at guard and Doug Legursky was the backup, the Steelers moved Pouncey to guard and started Legursky at center.
