Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Kendrick Green on studying Maurkice Pouncey

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie center Kendrick Green says he’s been watching film of Maurkice Pouncey in preparation for his NFL regular-season debut.

Pouncey, the Pittsburgh Steelers former center, retired this offseason after an 11-year career — all spent with the Steelers. He made nine Pro Bowl rosters, was a three-time first-team All-Pro selection and two-time second-team All-Pro selection. A future Hall of Fame center, Pouncey seems like an ideal role model for a rookie like Green.

“When I got here in the summer, just trying to learn the offense, there was a bunch of Maurkice Pouncey tape up there,” Green said Wednesday. “I like the way he plays. He plays hard. He tries to play physical and put his hands on guys. That’s something I’ve been trying to work on myself. I need to add that to my game as well. I would say by far Pouncey’s the most [tape] I’ve watched.”

Green was a three-year starter at the University of Illinois, and after starting all eight games in 2020 he capped off his collegiate career with 33-straight starts. He was one of the country’s best offensive linemen, earning second team All-America honors from USA Today, the first Illinois offensive lineman to do so since Jon Asamoah in 2009. Additionally, Green was a consensus All-Big Ten first team selection.

Green declared for the 2021 NFL Draft and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round, with the 87th overall pick.

In college, Green was largely an offensive guard. He started one game at center in 2019, his sophomore season, with the rest at left guard; in 2020, he moved to center for three games while starting center Doug Kramer was injured.

“It’s more so adjusting to playing center,” Green said, when asked of the adjustment from college to the NFL. “For me, I didn’t play too much center in college. Just here and there. It’s a grind like anything else, but I am up for the challenge.”

Green will wear the number 53 for the Steelers, the same number Pouncey wore in his NFL career. Though the 22-year-old has not yet appeared in a regular-season game — and confirmed Wednesday that he’s not yet been told if he will start Week 1 — the preseason alone has excited the young prospect.

“I kind of blacked out I was so nervous,” Green said of his first preseason game, coming out of the tunnel and being introduced at Heinz Field. “It was dope. I got a video of it. Someone took a video of it for me. Life-long dream so here I am.”