PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You got the sense in tackle Broderick Jones’ rookie season last year that it was going to be a matter of time and any injury would open the door for him to be a starter. On Thursday, center Nate Herbig missed a joint practice with the Bills and Zach Frazier started. It could be Frazier’s job from here on out.
It was less than a week into camp when Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said he didn’t notice when Frazier was out there because he was doing everything so well. That has continued.
“Overall understanding, overall being comfortable on the field,” Frazier said Thursday. “The play calls, making the calls. Every part of my game I feel better.”
Jones said Frazier did a great job Thursday against Buffalo. He was loud, talking, snapped perfectly with no issues. He said Frazier has had time to get his mind right. There are no jitters, he just goes out there and performs.
“He’s strong,” Jones said. “He’s fast. He’s physical. He just plays tough-nosed football and that’s what Mike T.
like to see.”
Smith went on to say that Frazier has had a terrific camp. He credited Herbig and other veterans for making Frazier and the other rookies better. He said it’s been a little bit of a challenge with multiple quarterbacks, but he’s been pleased with Frazier.
Nothing has been decided, Herbig is still listed as the starting center, but it will be Frazier’s job. It’s not that Herbig lost it or performed poorly. The veteran has worked hard with little NFL experience at center, but Frazier is just better.
Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl remembers seeing him play for the Mountaineers just a couple of years ago.
“He's a captain,” Weidl said. “He's a mature guy. We just know him really well. He's right in our backyard. We had a comfort level. We saw him play here two years ago against Pitt, and I remember at halftime, (Steelers scout) 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.”
Weidl said they went down and saw him in person when West Virginia played against BYU. He said WVU had 200 yards rushing in the first half and Frazier was just mowing guys down.
It’s a special football character according to Weidl. It’s about the makeup of a player that sealed their thoughts and led to them using their second-round pick on the Fairmont, West Virginia star.
“They're good centers,” Weidl said. “Obviously, in the draft, throughout the draft, we felt, but he was one of the better ones, and we were just fortunate to get him where we got him in the second round.”
Frazier may still have work to do to take that job from Herbig, but Frazier doesn’t have much more work to do to become an NFL starter. When the Steelers pull the trigger is the only question.
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