Team Bonding in Latrobe

by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published August 7, 2025, 5:29 PM

LATROBE, Pa. – When you load up the offensive line with first-round picks like Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu and throw in a second-round bruiser like Zach Frazier, you expect those names to own the spotlight. But if you’re paying close attention and you’re not just glued to the cameras that follow jersey sales and draft pedigrees then you’ll notice something else.

His name is Mason McCormick.

That’s right a fourth-round pick. Not some household name. Not a guy they moved up the board for in a war room frenzy. Just a quiet assassin in the trenches who’s quietly become one of the most indispensable pieces of this young Steelers front.

Last year, as a rookie, McCormick appeared in all 17 games and started 14. No small feat for a guy entering a huddle that rotated between Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen. Now in year two? Welcome to another carousel. But this one features a legend.

Aaron Freakin’ Rodgers.

Four-time MVP. Super Bowl champ. The kind of football savant who can walk into a meeting room and rewrite a playbook with a single sentence. You can’t fake it around Rodgers. He’ll expose you in a blink if you don’t know your details. And that’s what makes McCormick’s elevation all the more impressive because the two are already clicking.

“Aaron’s awesome. He’s very detail-oriented,” McCormick said, looking almost in awe. “He does a really good job explaining stuff to us that he’s trying to get across. It’s been nothing but great.”

That’s not just player-speak. That’s a second-year guy trying to wrap his head around the sheer processing power of one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever spin a football.

“Just hearing some of the things that he knows is crazy,” McCormick continued. “It’s super cool to see especially how smart he is with our run game. It’s pretty impressive.”

Rodgers isn’t just changing routes and blitz pickups. He’s dissecting front rotations mid-huddle and redirecting the line with Jedi-level instinct.

“If we were to re-mic something in the run game that we might have been a little off,” McCormick recalled, “he saw some sort of different rotation or whatever. He’s like, ‘Hey, no, you guys go here and do this.’ That’s pretty impressive from the quarterback spot.”

McCormick is not a 10-year vet, but he appears to be headed in that direction. Watch enough practice reps, and you’ll notice it’s communication. The leadership. The energy. The way his voice cuts through drills. The way he talks about being the most physical unit in the league.

“We want to be the most physical offensive in the league,” said McCormick. “That’s what we strive to do every day. And it’s an ever growing thing.”

This offensive line is being rebuilt the way all great ones are through nasty, physical, versatile linemen who can maul you into submission. And while Jones, Fautanu, and Frazier were expected to be the bedrock, it’s McCormick who might end up being the steel beam nobody saw coming.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said when asked if this group is starting to gel. “I feel like we’re a close-knit group, and we just got to keep striving to focus on the finer details and get those wrinkles out.”

Here’s the fun part: Rodgers demands perfection. He doesn’t sugarcoat. If you’re not there, he’ll let you know. But if you are?

Even today in practice after an incompletion, Rodgers barked at Pat Freiermuth. Gesturing to cut quicker with some language not suitable for children. It’s not him being a you know what, it’s Rodgers doing his best to get things perfect.

Hard to beat perfect.

And that’s where McCormick is living right now. In the huddle with a genius. Absorbing football IQ like osmosis ( had to check the spelling on that). Getting better every day. And maybe just maybe writing the kind of rise that makes NFL front offices kick themselves for not seeing it sooner.

In Pittsburgh, they just call him another brick in the wall. But if you’re paying attention?

Mason McCormick is the foundation piece to this young offensive line.

Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com