PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He got a taste of it last year due to injury, now Steelers second year guard Kevin Dotson is striving to be a difference-maker.
“I want to be more of that aggressive guy,” Dotson said. “I’m kind of aggressive already. I want to be that guy that will do extra. You need to make sure you are ready for this game type of guy for the defensive line. I want to be conditioned enough to be able to go the whole game 100%.”
That mentality would seem in step with Adrian Klemm taking over for Shaun Sarrett as the new Steelers offensive line coach.
“I feel like there is a little more intensity,” Dotson said. “Not to say that Coach (Sarrett) wasn’t doing his job or anything. There is a little more that ‘we got to go’. More aggression, even the way that we come off the blocks.”
“There’s no more getting behind people and blocking it’s more going down the middle of them. Even the verbiage he uses in meetings is way more aggressive. It’s not just get the block, it’s ‘run through his face’ or other stuff that I really can’t say. He uses more aggressive terms and I feel like that pushes our mindset in that way.”
Not that Dotson really needed that motivation, known for an aggressive style in college. Given the moniker of being a road grater. Now after a year in the NFL and making four starts, he knows what to expect and how better to prepare. So far it’s been all at left guard.
“They want me to train more left, that’s where they have me right now,” Dotson said. “That’s pretty much what I did the whole offseason was train for left side. Just get a little more comfortable with it. Last year I wasn’t too comfortable with it but I feel like I’m way more comfortable now.”
Last year that would put him between Alejandro Villanueva and Maurkice Pouncey. This year is yet to be determined.
“The offensive lines of any team I’ve been on have been able to let people in and still be able to do what they need to do to get it done,” Dotson said. “We are going to miss the leadership of Pouncey and them. We are going to have to adjust. We can’t hold onto it. We are going to have to move on and start our own stuff.”
But who? David DeCastro is the most experienced, but not a vocal guy and he may only have a year left with the Steelers. Kendrick Green, said to be a type-A personality, but would everyone listen to a rookie drafted in the third round? Zach Banner has the personality and drive to show an example, but only has 23 NFL games with two starts under his belt.
“Somebody is going to fall into that role,” Dotson said. “It’s not really known right now. It’s not one of those things where it is for sure him. That he’s going to be the leader. It will be around game two or three where we find out who the leader of the O line will be.”
It may be Dotson. Whoever will be leading that group will pave the path for the 2021 Steelers.