That phone call from Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin welcoming his latest draft pick is always special.
On Thursday night, it was a memorable one with Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu, whom the Steelers selected at No. 20 overall.
Friday night, it was another special one as Tomlin called West Virginia center Zach Frazier to welcome him to the Steelers as the No. 51 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Frazier, what’s up my man? Hey, welcome to Pittsburgh, man. This is pretty good, man. You don’t have real far to go,” Tomlin said to Frazier, according to video via the Steelers’ Twitter account. “Where you taking in the draft today, man? You’re in your hometown or you’re in Morgantown. Great man. Well, hey man, you know how excited we are to have you. Congratulations to you and your family.
“We’re gonna pass the phone around, give you an opportunity to say hello to some people. First and foremost, Art Rooney [II] wants to welcome you to our organization. Man, congratulations. I’m sure we’re going to get you up here to participate a little bit in some of these draft festivities this weekend, and so I look forward to seeing you here soon.”
Throughout the pre-draft process the Steelers had quite a bit of interest in Frazier. Tomlin met with Frazier at the Senior Bowl, getting to know the West Virginia pivot. Then, the Steelers attended the Big 12 Pro Day, sending assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams there to watch Frazier work out.
Then, the Steelers hosted Frazier for a pre-draft visit in Pittsburgh in mid-April, getting another good look at him before ultimately selecting the coveted center, addressing a major hole on the roster.
Frazier will arrive in Pittsburgh Saturday morning. It’s not a far trip up from Fairmont, W.V., where he is from, either.
