HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- What it’s like to be in head-to-head competition at an NFL training camp?
It’s a relevant subject, given the battle we see playing out at right tackle for the Steelers between Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner.
It can also be a gut-wrenching subject. You can develop real relationships with players competing for your roster spot or place in the starting lineup. Sometimes, you are battling actual friends. This isn’t high school or college, either, where the worst thing that can happen is a demotion. Players’ livelihoods are at stake.
Even if both of us make the team, it’s tough being the backup. Every day, you have to come to practice and be around the person who took your spot. All you can do is keep working for another shot. Maybe the guy gets hurt or suspended. Maybe he doesn’t play well and coaches decide to make a change. But initially, there’s a feeling of helplessness, that you’re no longer in control of your destiny.
Most times in an internal competition, there’s no bad blood between the participants. There’s a mutual understanding that, “I want to beat you out, but we can be friends once this shakes out.”
Still, professional sports are cutthroat. Training camps put that truth in your face. My mantra was: “If there’s a game between us, I will step on your neck to get what I want.” I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the way I approached competition. After all, I entered the league in 2009 as an undrafted free agent. Nothing was handed to me.
I thought I had a solid finish to my rookie season, starting four games on the Steelers' offensive line. I went into my second season looking to become a full-time starter. I learned quickly, however, that the NFL is truly a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. The Steelers had a new offensive line coach, Sean Kugler, and I needed to show him I was worthy of consideration for one of the guard positions, so I was told I'd be right back at square one.
Trai Essex was the presumptive starter at right guard for much of the offseason. I knew Chris Kemoeatu wasn’t going anywhere at left guard. (When you have a nickname like “Juicy,” you better be confident and you better be a bad man. Chris was both. I don’t think he gets enough credit for job he did over the years.) So, I ended up battling Trai at right guard, and he prevailed.
I love Trai to this day. His experience and how he helped groom me was crucial to my development. But make no mistake, I wanted that starting job.
Unlike many positions, there’s rarely a rotation on offensive line. If you aren’t named a starter, you’re getting on the field through special teams, an injury or as a tackle eligible. And after that, it becomes a numbers game to see who dresses on Sundays. That year, I was scratched early in the season as the Steelers chose to use Doug Legursky as their reserve interior swingman.
It was disheartening, but I tried to keep learning my trade as best I could. I watched every rep Trai took during the preseason, every rep in offensive-line-vs.-defensive-line drills. I dissected the responsibilities and paid attention to detail.
Remember what I said about my mantra?
Well, in a 2011 preseason game against the Eagles, I dived into the back of someone’s legs. I received a $20,000 league fine and death threats for that stunt. Luckily, the player’s career was not ended by my action.
I ended up beating out former third-round pick Kraig Urbik for a roster spot and eventually started eight games for a Steelers team that reached the Super Bowl. We lost to the Packers, but it was a huge accomplishment and it allowed me to see what it took to make it that far.
The following season, I was involved in another international competition, this time a three-way battle for right guard with Legursky and Tony Hills. I was determined to finally win the position full-time and not have to wait for my opportunity as the season unfolded.
The media loves training-camp battles, of course, because reporters can track them daily and give readers and listeners regular updates. If one guy is having a bad day, everyone hears about it. I tried to limit my bad days in Latrobe and, by the time camp was done, Tony got cut.
If you can believe it, he got the phone call while at my house late in the evening.
I felt bad about it. But I also was glad it wasn’t me, and I wound up starting 14 games in 2011 and never looked back beyond that.
Training camps are grueling enough without the pressure of securing a position. As I’ve said, I relished the competition, but the relationship component could make it uneasy. Day in and day out, we talked with each other and shared laughs, but the competition on the field was what defined us.
Those of us who respect the process realized it was never personal. It’s just the business. And part of the game.
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