It’s never wise to start evaluating the play in the trenches on either side of the football until the pads come on in training camp and things go live, but with one padded practice out of the way, Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin is feeling good about his young crop of rookie offensive linemen.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday following the first padded practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Tomlin stated that the trio of Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have done some nice things and been tireless workers on and off the field, which has pleased him.
“They’ve come in really good shape and ready for work, and that is a really good place to begin,” Tomlin said of his rookie offensive linemen, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “They’re tireless workers in terms of what they are willing to do off the grass in the classroom, and I think that tees them up for quality reps.
“So, we’ll just keep rolling the ball out and getting a look at them, but I like what they’ve done thus far.”
It’s still very early in the process, but it is noteworthy that Tomlin had some positive things to say about the rookie offensive linemen. Typically, Tomlin is reserved and tends to hold back his true thoughts on young players as he is still getting to know them.
But so far he seems rather pleased with Fautanu, Frazier and McCormick.
Fautanu had some moments in the first padded practice of training camp Tuesday, handling himself well in 1-on-1 pass blocking drills against non other than star T.J. Watt. In Alex Kozora’s camp notes from the 1-on-1 drills, he had Fautanu winning both reps against Watt, though he later had him down losing reps against Nick Herbig and Kyron Johnson.
Frazier had some issues with his 1-on-1 reps, losing to Montravius Adams in both matchups, getting knocked off-balance in one and then hit with a swim move in the other.
“Troy Fautanu held up in 1v1s. Zach Frazier needs to work on his anchor against power,” Kozora noted of the rookies in his camp diary.
Even McCormick held up well in the 1-on-1 drills, winning a couple of reps against veteran Isaiahh Loudermilk.
With the addition of the three rookies, the offensive line has seen its rebuild — at least on paper — be completed.
So far, they have come into training camp in really good shape, as Tomlin said, and have been ready to work from the word go. The evaluation process really kicks into overdrive in the days ahead as padded practices ramp up. So far, so good though.
Now, it’s time to keep stacking days for the young offensive linemen that are going to be key pieces in the trenches for years to come.
