Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced last Thursday that training camp will not take place in Latrobe at St. Vincent’s College like it usually does. Instead it will take place at Heinz Field and the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. No matter where training camp takes place, players will be fighting for roster spots as well as starting positions.
One of the more intriguing position battles to watch in camp will be at the center position.
Back in February, the Steelers 11 year-starting center, Maurkice Pouncey retired. Pouncey's retirement left a huge hole on the offensive line that the Steelers haven't had to worry about for over a decade. The two players that will be battling for the center spot will be rookie, Kendrick Green, and veteran, B.J. Finney.
Green was drafted by the Steelers in the 3rd round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Green is a violent and versatile interior offensive lineman. The only worry with a lot of Steeler fans is that Green didn't spend a lot of time at center in college. Can he bring the violent and aggressive play that he played with at guard for Illinois to the NFL and the center position?
When the Steelers spent their 87th overall pick on Green, new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm spoke about Green's lack of experience at the center position in college.
“Well, he played center, but he played at a high level.” Klemm said. “You are talking about a guy who took snaps in practice, but didn’t play a number of games there. There were two games that he played in, I think it was his bowl game and one this year where he didn’t even know he was going to play (center) in the game. But he was ready for it."
“He was making calls from the guard position. I think at one point he played next to a tight end. They ran through a number of linemen. They had three or four quarterbacks playing throughout the year. Just to operate under those kinds of circumstances and still play at a high level, it was just really impressive. And from a mental standpoint, I had the opportunity to go out for his pro day and work him out myself, feel his power, see the suddenness up close and personal. His ability to retain and just what he knows and his understanding for offensive line play as a whole was tremendous. He was very impressive.”
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Klemm's vote of confidence for Green's ability definitely eases my mind, especially with the mindset I know Klemm is going to try to instill in this offensive line room this upcoming season.
Check out Green's official junior year highlights below:
Finney is a familiar face, initially signing with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Finney spent his career with the Steelers as a reliable backup on the interior offensive line for the Steelers, before the Seattle Seahawks signed him to a deal last offseason. Finney never played a down for the Seahawks and he was eventually dealt to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Carlos Dunlap trade. In four years with the Steelers, Finney appeared in 59 games and started in 13 of those. Finney was very reliable and versatile in his time with the Steelers, starting games at center and both guard positions. With a lot of changes up front for the Steelers, it'll definitely be great to have the veteran leadership and versatility that Finney presents in a very young offensive line room, no matter if he wins the starting center position or not.
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Of course, we can't forget about the emotional announcement that Finney made in front of family and friends when his NFL dreams came true back in 2015.
Who do you think wins the starting center position battle in training camp? Sound off in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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