Troy Fautanu is Adjusting After ‘Rough’ First Day
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round selection Troy Fautanu is only two days in at OTAs and already realizes that the NFL is on a whole different level than the college game. He’s not blocking an Oregon edge rusher in the Pac-10 anymore.
“(Tuesday) was a lot different than college. Just the adjustment to the speed, especially guys on the edge. Yeah, yesterday was a rough one. Today was a little bit better,” Fautanu said. “That’s what I’m hearing a lot from the guys. Just try to find something to get better at and I emphasized that today. I felt like I did. I’m learning a lot with these guys.”
Fautanu played most of his career at Washington at left tackle, except for a few games when he kicked inside to left guard due to injuries. Fautanu does not have the typical height of an NFL tackle (6’3 6/8″), but he does have long arms (34 inches). Only JC Latham and Amarius Mims had longer arms than Fautanu out of the first-round tackles
Fautanu is getting reps on the right side to start things out, so that’s another factor into the adjustment process. He played exclusively on the left side at Washington. Fautanu confirmed to the media that he got beat clean on his first rep during a 11-on-11 session. If it was a game, Justin Fields would have been sacked.
For some players, playing on a different side is like riding a bike. While for others, it could present legitimate issues. Dan Moore Jr. said he’ll do whatever the team tells him but he still isn’t comfortable at right tackle. Meanwhile, Jones has no issue playing on either side.
Fautanu said Moore, Jones and Isaac Seumalu have been showing him the ropes. “Everybody in the room is kind of taking me under their wing,” he said.
Fautanu will have a great mentor in his rookie season, as the team placed his locker next to Seumalo. Seumalo doesn’t say much, but when he does it speaks volumes.
“I’m right next to Isaac,” Fautanu said. “I’ve apologized to him because I’m going to be bothering him a bunch. When you’ve got a guy like that, a nine-year vet that’s been around the league for so long, you want to pick his brain. He’s got a lot coming. I’m going to be bothering him a whole bunch.”
Nick Farabaugh contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.
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