PITTSBURGH -- Two years before Zach Frazier joined the Pittsburgh Steelers, assistant general manager Andy Weidl watched the center mow down defensive linemen at Acrisure Stadium.
Frazier's West Virginia squad was playing Pitt in 2022 when he caught the eye of Steelers scouts in attendance.
"I remember at halftime, [director of college scouting] Dan Colbert coming up to me, and he's like, 'Do you see that center from West Virginia dumping guys on the ground?' I said, 'Yeah!' We both saw it, and he was on our radar then."
Frazier remained on the Steelers' radar, and two years later, Weidl and the team's front office selected him with the No. 51 pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft. The plan was for Frazier to eventually take over the starting center job, but a season-ending rotator cuff tear to Nate Herbig all but assures the rookie will anchor the line for the season opener in Atlanta.
This isn't an unfamiliar spot for the Steelers, who started then-rookie Kendrick Green in that spot three seasons ago and then-rookie Maurkice Pouncey at center in 2010. But in Frazier, the Steelers appear better positioned to replicate the success of Pouncey than the struggles of Green.
"Zach's played a lot of games at center," offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. "It's not the NFL, but he did it in the Power 5. I think he's a very mature guy. You're asking your centers to do a lot, but I would say of any rookie, he's probably the most prepped, and we thought that when we drafted him. Since he's been in this building, he's as advertised."
Frazier, who turns 23 next week, arrived in Pittsburgh with 37 consecutive starts at center under his belt. By comparison, Pouncey was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft after starting 39 games at center for Florida.
Taking the next step to the NFL comes with its share of growing pains, but like Pouncey, Frazier's are minimized because he's continuing to play the same position he anchored in college. That wasn't the case in 2021 when the Steelers elected to move Green, their third-round pick, from guard to center to fill the void left by Pouncey's retirement. As a result, his development was expedited, and the line play suffered because of it.
"He was in an unfortunate situation," tackle Dan Moore Jr. said of Green. "Being a guard in college and then having to make that transition to center and having to be the guy Day 1, obviously it is a tough task and it hurt his development a lot. We had to skip a lot of things in the process just to get him ready for Week 1, and it kind of sped his development up a little bit, so he wasn't really able to learn the little nuances and techniques a center may have to learn.
"With Zach already having 37 starts at center in college, that helps a lot on coaches not having to coach him as much. He understands the position just a little bit more."
Frazier represents a shift in the Steelers' mindset when it comes to drafting offensive linemen, as the organization prioritized college experience in its 2024 selections. Frazier spent four years at West Virginia, starting 46 total games between center and guard. First-round pick Troy Fautanu spent five seasons at Washington and started 31 games in his final three seasons. And fourth-round pick Mason McCormick, who projects as the Steelers' top reserve interior lineman, spent six seasons at South Dakota State, starting every game in his final three seasons.
That's a significant departure from even a season ago when the Steelers used their first-round pick on Broderick Jones, who made just 19 career starts in a three-year career at Georgia. Jones, born in May 2001, is a year younger than McCormick, seven months younger than Fautanu and three months older than Frazier.
"They're all older dudes," 30-year-old guard Isaac Seumalo said. "They've played a lot of ball in college, and they're just real professionals. Train hard, low maintenance. All you can ask for in an O-line."
Because of the rookie class' résumés, Moore, who was one of two rookies starting on the 2021 offensive line, sees a difference in the preparedness of this year's group.
"We are young, but I feel like there's a lot more game experience," Moore said. "Hopefully we can lean on that when we get in-stadium."
There's still a learning curve as evidenced in the first two preseason games. The first unit gave up five sacks in eight series, including three against the Bills. Fautanu and Jones were most responsible for the bulk of those sacks, partially a by-product of the pair's inexperience at right tackle.
Though Jones played right tackle last season, he's a natural left tackle and is dealing with an unspecified arm injury. The Steelers' front office has also expressed an intention to move him to left tackle at some point. Fautanu, who also played most of his collegiate career at left tackle, is learning the nuances of the right side while also battling a knee sprain.
With the injuries and youth, the line might still take time to gel, but in Frazier and the rest of the young linemen, the Steelers believe they have the right players in the building to reclaim their organizational-defining identity in the trenches.
"We talk about football character, football maturity, and these are guys that were captains," Weidl said. "They played a lot of football, they loved the game, and they played our style. They're physical.
"If you want to be a physical, tough team, draft physical, tough players, right? Guys that love the game, it's not a big secret or a magic formula. It's just, hey, if you want to be big physical and tough, go draft big, physical and tough, and guys [who are] are smart and love the game."