Alan Faneca lobbies for Steelers teammate Hines Ward to join him in Canton: 'He is a Hall of Famer'

When he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, Alan Faneca will become the third player and fourth member from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl XL championship team to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

Jerome Bettis, of course, is already a member. Troy Polamalu and coach Bill Cowher will join him one day prior to Faneca’s induction.

Faneca expects more players from the Steelers’ fifth championship to eventually wear the gold jacket. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is destined to make it five years after he retires. And Faneca hasn’t given up hope that wide receiver Hines Ward also will receive football’s highest individual honor.

Despite setting franchise records for catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Ward has never reached the list of finalists after being named a semifinalist five years in a row.

In a move designed to perhaps boost Ward’s candidacy, Faneca announced in April that his fellow 1998 draft pick will present him at the induction ceremony, which will conclude a weekend in which five Steelers representatives will be feted.

On Thursday, during a conference call to promote his enshrinement, Faneca was asked about Ward’s candidacy.

“He will get into Canton,” Faneca said. “It’s just a matter of time. He is a Hall of Famer. It’s just a matter of when he gets in.”

Faneca knows something about waiting for that elusive moment to happen. It wasn’t until his sixth year as a finalist that he got the knock at his door from Hall of Fame president David Baker.

Faneca said Ward was the obvious choice to present him. They entered the NFL together in 1998, Faneca coming aboard in the first round with the No. 26 overall pick, and Ward getting drafted with the Steelers’ second pick of the third round, No. 92 overall.

While Ward spent all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Steelers, Faneca lasted 10 years before spending two seasons with the New York Jets and one with the Arizona Cardinals.

“He and I have so many conversations and discussions over the time that we really bonded over those moments,” Faneca said. “We grew up together. We came in together and grew up in the Steelers organization and bringing the team along to where we were. We just had a really good bond, and I just wanted someone who represented me and the same mentality.

“Hines and I have a lot of the same characteristics that got us to where we are. That is how we became who we are as players.”

Faneca was in the middle of his decade-long run with the Steelers when Roethlisberger was thrust into a starting role two games into his rookie season in 2004. In the week prior to Roethlisberger’s first start, Faneca made headlines with a quote when he was asked if it was exciting to see what the rookie could do in the wake of starter Tommy Maddox’s injury.

“No, it’s not exciting. Do you want to go work with some little young kid who’s just out of college?” Faneca said.

Roethlisberger is still playing at age 39 and entering his 18^th season with three Super Bowl appearances and two championships to his credit.

“Ben and I had a short discussion about that moment when I was doing some coaching during summer camps a few years ago,” Faneca said. “He sees where I was coming from at the time. When I said those words, they were at a passion for the team and not really at Ben himself or a slight against him. It was where we were as a team and where we were trying to get.

“How many teams lose their starting quarterback and it’s an exciting moment is where I was coming from.”

Entering 2021, Roethlisberger finds himself in the Faneca role as he prepares to open the season with a rebuilt offensive line that lost four starters since the end of last season.

“It’s definitely great to see him to continue on and playing, doing it at a high level and being the leader he has become,” Faneca said. “It’s pretty special to watch.”