Making 1st start in 3 years doesn't faze 'very smart' Steelers center Ryan McCollum

Asked this week what he remembered about his previous NFL start, Ryan McCollum was brief.

“Elevation,” the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman said, alluding to playing in Denver. “It was hard to breathe.”

McCollum can be forgiven for providing sparse detail about the game.

It happened nearly three years ago.

McCollum is set to make his second NFL start and first for the Steelers when he fills in for injured center Zach Frazier during Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets.

It has been almost four years since the 6-foot-5, 300-pound McCollum left Texas A&M and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. The vast majority of that time has been on a practice squad, and he has been waived four times by three teams.

Now 26, McCollum likely will make multiple starts for the Steelers. Frazier is expected to miss at least two games because of an ankle injury suffered during last week’s win at the Las Vegas Raiders.

Did McCollum ever consider giving up football?

“No,” he said. “Never. I am not a quitter. It’s not in my blood. So I just keep working.”

Believe it or not, among the other 52 players on the active roster, McCollum joined the Steelers and has stayed with the organization longer than 33 of them. But his first regular-season game action for the Steelers came by way of six special-teams snaps in the opener in Atlanta last month.

His first offensive snap came three weeks later, a single play as a “jumbo” tight end in Indianapolis.

His first appearance at center — his natural position — came after Frazier suffered his injury during the third quarter of last week’s 32-13 win.

“I thought Ryan did a great job,” veteran right tackle Dan Moore said. “He’s done a great job through team development every time he gets in there and getting everybody on track. He’s a really good leader. He’s actually a vocal guy. I thought Ryan did a tremendous job with his playing and leading the group.“

After starting as a fifth-year senior at Texas A&M, McCollum signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He opened that season on their practice squad until the Detroit Lions signed him that October. He made a spot start for them against the Broncos on Dec. 12 of that year and played extensively in their season finale.

But the Lions waived McCollum late during the ensuing training camp, and he was claimed by the Steelers. They have kept him around via reserve/future and practice-squad contracts since, and when Nate Herbig suffered a season-ending shoulder injury late during this past summer’s camp, McCollum took advantage of a path to the active roster as the backup center.

“I like the way Ryan plays,” right tackle Broderick Jones said. “He has the confidence about himself when he steps on the field. He’s loud when he communicates. All the little things that you need in a center — being on point, being loud, communicating, making sure everybody is on the same page — I feel like he does that. I feel like he is going to go out and play well.”

Injuries to Herbig, Frazier, starting tackle Troy Fautanu, starting guard James Daniels and reserve tackle Dylan Cook have left the Steelers offensive line depleted. Factoring in the four games missed by starting guard Isaac Seumalo, the Steelers are on their fifth starting O-line combination over the first seven games.

As such, the Steelers sure could use a stabilizing presence from McCollum as their center.

“He’s been good,” running back Najee Harris said. “He is very, very smart. His IQ of the game is very big. … He’s making calls, doing things like that, the protections, slides and whatnot that other people don’t see. He does a good job of that. We’re all excited for him.”