Center Zach Frazier was honored with the 2024 Joe Greene Great Performance Award during halftime at Saturday’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium. The award, named after Hall of Famer Joe Greene and established in 1984, is presented annually to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Rookie of the Year.
Frazier becomes only the second center in team history to receive this recognition, following Maurkice Pouncey, who won in 2010.
“When they announced I won the award last year, I went through and looked at the past winners, all of the names,” said Frazier. “It’s truly an honor to be mentioned in that same group of names. It’s a huge honor.”
Drafted by Pittsburgh as the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft from West Virginia, Frazier played 47 games with 37 starts for the Mountaineers over four college seasons. He quickly became aware of what it means to play on the Steelers’ offensive line.
“I just know how much offensive line means to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their long tradition of having great o-linemen and great offensive lines,” said Frazier. “It’s special.”
Frazier moved into a starting role at center in Week 1 due to injuries at that position and started all 15 games he played during his rookie season, missing two because of an ankle injury.
Reflecting on his first year, Frazier said: “What I was most happy with my rookie year is I got better as the year went on. I feel like I kept improving and didn’t make the same mistake twice. I was happy I was able to correct the problems and get better throughout the year.
“But I am hard on myself, I expect to get better this year and keep on improving.”
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