They came in together, formed a quick bond, and have a very bright future together for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, the rookie offensive line trio of Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have a new nickname together, too.
Thanks to former Steelers offensive lineman and current radio color analyst Craig Wolfley, the rookies will now be referred to as “Smash, Bash and Crash” up front for the Black and Gold.
Appearing on the Irish Steelers Podcast, Wolfley spoke highly of the rookie trio, stating that their physicality and the edge that they bring to the position up front could carry over to the rest of the Steelers offense not only this season, but moving forward.
“You’ve got three offensive linemen you drafted. Smash, Bash, and Crash, okay? That’s what I call ’em,” Wolfley said of the Steelers’ rookies up front. “The common denominator, when you put that tape on, you watch play after play, a couple of things stand out. Number one is physicality, whether it’s Mason McCormick or Zach Frazier or Troy Fautanu, all three of ’em are very physical, very, very strong to-the-whistle guys. They block to the echo of the whistle the next valley over. And what I love though, there’s a calling card offensive linemen lead when they’ve got the proper attitude after you drop a guy, you might, what we always used to call back in the day, putting a little jelly on your work.
“You might put a little elbow in the guy, you might kneel on him again, you might push off on his facemask, just letting him know, ‘It’s coming all day, buddy. I’m gonna be right back here in the next play.’ So I like that that’s an attitude that you want because it, it carries over to the rest of the offense.”
That’s exactly the way the Steelers want to play, and it’s why they were so high on the trio of rookie offensive linemen they landed in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Aiming to “roll people” in the run game in 2024 and beyond, the Steelers had to add pieces in the trenches that fit that style. Enter Fautanu, Frazier and McCormick. All three are nasty, physical players who are people movers in the run game. They play with a real edge, block through the whistle and really set the tone up front coming out of college.
Fautanu brings that nasty, physical edge to the offensive line. He’s a player who plays through the whistle and looks to bury his defender every chance he gets. It’s all over his tape. His strength is eye-opening in those situations.
With McCormick, South Dakota State head coach Jimmy Rogers believes that his former standout guard is “as tough as they come” at any level of football, while Frazier put himself on the map from a toughness perspective for crawling off the field with a broken leg to avoid a timeout late in a comeback win.
They were leaders for their respective college programs, and while they are adjusting to a new scheme and a new level of football in Pittsburgh, that physicality and that mindset of blocking through the whistle, mixing it up and bringing a real edge will help them immensely in their transition.
Fautanu and Frazier are expected to play big roles in 2024, while McCormick might have to wait until 2025 to make an impact. But once all three are on the field, the Steelers will have a trio of guys who want to bludgeon opponents in the run game.
Smash, Bash and Crash could really become fan favorites with that style, especially with a catchy nickname they now have thanks to a former beloved offensive lineman.
