What do Mason McCormick and Tony Hills have in common? They are the only players the Steelers have given no. 66 to since Alan Faneca left the team in free agency other than David DeCastro. Hills didn’t exactly work out in Pittsburgh—but one wonders if the Steelers gave him 66 out of spite.
Faneca just left in free agency when the Steelers drafted Hills in the fourth round in 2008. Had his departure been more amicable, perhaps 66 would be one of those numbers they have “soft” retired. But I think we can make the case that, since then, they have used discretion in handing out the number. David DeCastro was an obvious call, but Mason McCormick, as a fourth-round pick, was less so.
The Steelers viewed him as a future starter, though, even if they didn’t anticipate him starting this early. McCormick has started most of the season for the Steelers now, chiefly at RG following James Daniels’ injury. And they told him at the time why they gave him no. 66 and what it means. This week, however, Mike Tomlin made sure to drill it into him, according to Christian Kuntz.
“With him wearing 66, he put him on blast”, he said of Tomlin about McCormick on the Christian Kuntz podcast yesterday. “Like, the guys that wore this before you were like, straight goons. One a Hall of Famer, and then Dave [DeCastro] arguably a Hall of Famer. He kind of called him out on it. It was cool”.
In case anybody reading somehow doesn’t get it, the Steelers expect any lineman wearing no. 66 to be extremely good, because Alan Faneca and David DeCastro were extremely good. I don’t think I could put it more simply. And Tomlin is pushing McCormick to understand the significance and what they expect of him.
“I wasn’t completely aware, I would say”, McCormick told Kuntz, before this week, about just how significant wearing the jersey number of Faneca and DeCastro means to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I had heard of those guys before, but I didn’t know the true meaning behind 66. And it’s pretty cool now that I get to wear it, for sure”.
When you’re a rookie attending your first practice, sure, you’re going to say, yeah, I get it. But now Mason McCormick has eight starts and 579 snaps under his belt. With the benefit of the mini bye, Tomlin wanted to drill into his head just what he has to live up to.
“I didn’t know that”, McCormick admitted, before this past week about everything Tomlin told him about the number’s legacy. I just envision him strapped into a chair with his eyes pried open, force-fed pull tape of DeCastro. A Clockwork Black and Gold. “I feel like it’s a cool honor to be able to wear it, especially in this city. 66 has meant a lot to this city”, he said.
Now, to his credit, I think Mason McCormick has played about as well as one could reasonably expect. The Steelers didn’t plan for him to start this year, and he really didn’t get the reps that suggest otherwise. Spencer Anderson even started the season ahead of him on the depth chart. Is he going to be the next David DeCastro? Probably not. But you know he’s going to try. And he’ll give the Steelers the best Mason McCormick he can give.
