The Pittsburgh Steelers have had the pleasure of having a handful of iconic centers, and Jeff Hartings is one of the more recent ones. Hartings spent 11 years in the NFL and his last six were with the Black and Gold. The Detroit Lions selected Hartings in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft with the 23rd overall pick as an offensive guard. When the time came to leave Detroit, Hartings had a good idea of where he wanted to end up, and a big reason for that is former Steelers General Manager, Kevin Colbert.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' former General Manager, Kevin Colbert hangs out on the field during a training camp back when he was the head of the team's front office.
Colbert got his career in the NFL started off by joining the Miami Dolphins as a college scout for a few years. In 1990, he joined the Lions as the pro scouting director and would remain there for about 10 years. Colbert and the Lions drafted Hartings and hit it off early. Then, in 2000, Colbert moved to Pittsburgh as their director of football operations and would finish his career with the Steelers. Colbert would then pass the torch to new Steelers General Manager, Omar Khan in 2022 as he retired.
Hartings, a former Penn State alumnus, earned back-to-back Pro Bowl selections in 2004 and 2005 with the Steelers. Shortly after that in the 2005-2006 season, Hartings and Colbert would be a part of the Steelers team that defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Hartings would spend one more year playing ball for the Steel City before he officially announced his retirement.
steelers.com
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger celebrates Super Bowl XL with Jeff Hartings and Alan Faneca.
During a Steelers.com segment where Hartings discussed his football career and more, he was asked about Colbert's role in bringing him to Pittsburgh after Detroit. Hartings spent five years with the Lions as a guard, but Colbert had other ideas of pushing him to center.
"It's probably close to say it's a hundred percent of the reason why. Because I think Kevin, when he was in Detroit, he saw the capability that I had of moving to center. They were looking for a center because Dermontti Dawson was retiring. While a lot of other teams were just kind of probably looking at me as a guard, he had that first-hand experience to be able to see me as a center."
Hartings continues on in his interview about other reasons relating to why he wanted to come to Pittsburgh in free agency. He, like most players in the NFL, knew early on about the Pittsburgh culture and how they always win.
"Everything fit really good, super excited about playing for this franchise. I already recognized the fact that, man, they just always win. They find a way to win. I love the way they played. I loved Coach [Bill] Cowher."
Since Hartings' retirement in the beginning of 2007, Pittsburgh has only had one more center who will go down as an all-time great: Maurkice Pouncey. Pouncey would join the Steelers in 2010, about three years after Hartings' departure. We all know Pouncey's legacy, but could there be another Steelers great center on the horizon?
Steelers' Rookie Center Zach Frazier Could Be The Successor To Maurkice Pouncey
The Steelers selected center Zach Frazier in the second round of this year's NFL Draft, and with the recent poor play at center over the past few years, Steelers fans are hoping Frazier can become the long-term future. Frazier was a prospect that many liked and would hope he would wind up in Pittsburgh. As one of the best centers in his class, the Steelers came away with a steal by landing him with the 51st overall pick. Since Pouncey's retirement, Pittsburgh has really struggled at center.
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Steelers center Zach Frazier takes part in the team's 2024 rookie minicamp.
Frazier will likely be on the field Week 1 for the Steelers, which is hopefully just the first of many games in Acrisure Stadium for him. The Steelers need their successor to Pouncey, and they need it now. Pittsburgh has gone through a lot of changes this offseason in order to be in a better position to win. Frazier and his development will be critical going forward, but there is a lot to be excited about with this kid.
What do you think? Could Frazier turn into another iconic Steelers center like Hartings and Pouncey? Let us know in the comments.
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