Since being drafted by Steelers, Kendrick Green has gotten leaner, meaner
Since his first few weeks of on-field work after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kendrick Green literally has gotten leaner and meaner.
Leaner, as in the 12-13 pounds he said he trimmed off his 6-foot-3 frame between minicamp in June and the start of training camp in July.
Meaner, as in morphing his identity and on-field demeanor into more of what the Steelers look for in their offensive linemen – particularly, their center.
“I am not usually a guy who is too loud,” said Green, who primarily was a guard at Illinois, “(but) nobody cares when you are at center – you’ve got to be that kind of guy.“
Green is wearing Maurkice Pouncey’s old number (53), and he is aiming to emulate the longtime Steelers center’s gregarious-off-the-field-but-nasty-on-it demeanor.
Green said he has watched plenty of game tape on Pouncey, the Steelers’ center for 11 seasons before retiring in January.
“I like the way he played,” said Green, who weights 307-308 pounds. “He played hard, played physical, put his hands on guys. And that’s something I was trying to work on myself and add that to my game.”
Wait, isn’t it part of the job description of an offensive lineman to “put hands on guys?”
Green said it’s about the way an offensive lineman approached his duties.
“(Pouncey) wasn’t doing it just because it was his job, you know what I mean?” Green said. “You definitely didn’t get that vibe watching the film. He was definitely going out of his way to be violent, and that’s what you get to appreciate about an offensive lineman.”
It’s what the Steelers would appreciate out of Green in being their new center under new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm.
Green said he still is adjusting to a new position, let alone to the jump from the Big Ten to the NFL. He’s also aware that even as a rookie, he needs to be something of an alpha dog and lead communicator on the field among his position mates.
“I was told this what my job is going to be,” Green said, “so I’ve got to accept it and do my job and I am taking it on full speed.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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