If the first two days of Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp tells us anything, the team plans to move Troy Fautanu from his college left tackle spot to the right side. In turn, Broderick Jones will flip from right tackle to his college home of left tackle.
On paper, it looks like a big switch for Fautanu. He entire time at Washington was spent on the left side, mostly at left tackle with two starts at left guard. Now, he’ll have to reprogram himself to move and punch the opposite way. But digging into his background some more, it might not be as daunting as it seems.
A point I’ve mentioned a couple times and wanted to dedicate a post to because not everyone is aware that Fautanu began his football career as a right tackle. At Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, he lined up along the right side. A quick check of his HUDL highlights shows that.
And he was a very good right tackle at that. A three-star recruit, he was Nevada’s third-best prospect, according to Rivals, with offers from all over the country. Everywhere from Hawaii to USC to Vanderbilt recruited him.
Obviously, high school right tackle and NFL right tackle are worlds apart. But the level of competition isn’t the point. The point is that Fautanu is not playing a brand-new spot. There’s still an adjustment but the learning curve might not be as steep. Fautanu also credited his college coaches for preaching versatility and working on left- and right-handed stances throughout his college career.
Based on reporting from media attending, Fautanu has taken snaps exclusively at right tackle the first two days of minicamp. We’ll see if that changes when the team gets together next week instead of just the rookie class, but it seems most likely that Jones will flip to the left side while Fautanu will stay on the right. If that’s the Steelers’ plan, it’s the right one. Get Fautanu immediate snaps at right tackle and allow him to maximize his reps there as opposed to trying to work him at both tackle spots. It’ll give him the entire spring and summer to settle back into playing right tackle to have him ready for Week 1, presuming he’s a starter.
There will still be an adjustment. Troy Fautanu will have to work to re-learn the position and do so at football’s highest level. But it’s important to note right tackle isn’t a new one for him. If anything, it’s his original spot.
