Once veteran interior offensive lineman Nate Herbig went down with a season-ending shoulder injury that landed him on Injured Reserve, questions arose regarding who the backup center would be for the Pittsburgh Steelers with rookie Zach Frazier elevated to the starting lineup.
The general belief is that the Steelers will lean on second-year pro Spencer Anderson and rookie Mason McCormick to handle the backup duties.
Neither has much experience at the center position in the NFL, though. In fact, McCormick had just 15 career snaps at center in his collegiate career.
Knowing that, the Steelers worked him at center quite a bit throughout the last week leading up to the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, and then they made an effort to get him some reps. Against Detroit, McCormick played nine snaps at center, more than half of his collegiate snaps at the position.
Though nine snaps aren’t much to go off of, it was at least some in-stadium work for the South Dakota State product at an unfamiliar position, one that the Steelers could call on him for during the season in case of injury.
Let’s take a look a the film from McCormick’s playing time at center.
Throughout the preseason, McCormick has been really impressive with his hand usage and grip strength in pass protection. When he gets his hands on you, you aren’t going anywhere.
Doing that after the snapping the football is a tall task, but McCormick handled it very well on one of his first snaps at the position.
Good snap, and then look at the way he’s able to control the defensive lineman. He helps create a very clean pocket on the RPO for quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who throws a strike to Jaray Jenkins.
Later in the same drive, this is another read-option from Plumlee. Though he pulls it and runs away from McCormick, check out the leg drive from the rookie to move the defensive tackle.
Snap is a bit slow, but that’s to be expected with the guy still learning the ins and outs of the position.
Being able to fit his hands quickly like this, gain leverage and drive off the spot here is good to see.
Having a defensive lineman shaded over your snapping hand can be a tough assignment at any level of football. You have to be quick and sound in technique to snap the ball and get hands up quickly.
McCormick does a good job here, and utilizes the hop technique to settle against the bull rush, even after getting slightly tripped up by guard Joey Fisher.
Snap is good here, too. Right into the midsection of Plumlee, who is able to catch and fire for a quick gain of 10 yards to Quez Watkins.
Nothing all that impressive on the 24-yard strike from Plumlee to Watkins that was wiped out due to Fisher’s ineligible man downfield penalty, but it’s noteworthy just how relatively comfortable McCormick looks.
The Steelers did work him out at center before the 2024 NFL Draft, so he at least knew this was coming. But being pushed into the position this past week due to injuries and then translating it to the game is a nice tip of the cap to McCormick.
He held his own, showed some power in the run game and was stout in pass protection. It can be a lot for a young center, especially someone learning the position on the fly, but he played well in those nine snaps.
Overall, it was a nice showing from McCormick in limited snaps at center. Nothing all that impressive, nothing concerning whatsoever. Steady. That’s a real positive thing to write about a rookie playing a new position on a short week.
The Steelers now know he can at least handle the position in case of emergency moving forward. That’s at least comforting.
