Fautanu, McCormick relishing new opportunities on right side of offensive line

"It's just sort of footwork, flipping the footwork. I was used to playing left (tackle) for so long but shoutout to my coach back in college, he did a really good job making sure that we were able to play both sides," Fautanu said following his first workout in a Steelers uniform. 

Fautanu played left tackle for a left-handed quarterback Michael Penix at Washington. Now playing right tackle for a stable of right-handed passers in the Steelers quarterback room, some think that might make the transition easier, but the first-round-pick Fautanu says that doesn't matter as much as one might think. 

"Regardless of if the quarterback can see my rusher or not, I got to block the guy," Fautanu said. "That's my mindset whether or not I'm on the backside or the front side."

McCormick said of lining up at right guard, "It was good. I'm ready to play whatever they want me to and I've prepped at every position so I'm ready to go."

As for lining up next fellow draft pick McCormick, Fautanu said "He's a beast. I'm fortunate enough to have guys like that next to me and right now we're just trying to work on making sure that we can gel together, because you can't play O-line independently. It's a collective five out there and right now I'm just trying to make sure that I gain those guys' trust."

The three rookie offensive linemen, Fautanu, McCormick, and Zach Frazier seem to be getting along well so far, even showing up at practice together on Friday morning. They're all living in the same place right now and all rode together in Frazier's truck, since Fautanu and McCormick don't have their vehicles in Pittsburgh yet. The three arriving together caught the eye of Arthur Smith.

"He said, 'damn, you guys are already sticking together,'" Fautanu said. "There's no other way to do it. O-lines always stick with O-lines."

More to come from the South Side.