MOBILE, Ala. - As the practice ended for the American team at the Reese's Senior Bowl here at Hancock Whitney Stadium, the players from each position group gathered around their respective coaches in a group to break things down and then go on their way.
But even after the offensive line group broke up, players lined up to ask their position coach specific questions about the day.
This one asked about hand placement, while that one was interested in foot spacing. It went on for several minutes after the other groups had all gone on their merry way.
Everyone had questions for Steelers assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams, who is handling those duties for the American team here at the 2024 Senior Bowl.
And it's those one-on-one interactions that Williams sees as particularly beneficial not just for himself, but for the Steelers.
"It allows you to understand how their minds work," Williams said Tuesday. "Are they eager to learn? Do they want corrections? Are they interested in getting better? That's one of the things you can't get watching a tape."
This is the second year in a row the Steelers have had assistant coaches working at the Senior Bowl. Last year, defensive backs coach Grady Brown served as a defensive coordinator, while outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin also worked this game.
Lolley is a Contributing Writer/Editor and co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. His opinions do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
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For Williams, who has been the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers the past two seasons, it's not just an opportunity to get a first-hand look at some of the players available in this year's draft, but for himself, as well.
The Steelers recommended him to the Senior Bowl committee for consideration to coach this week, and he was selected to do so, giving him an opportunity to come up with his own practice plan for his unit.
"When I found out about it, I was juiced and ready to go," Williams said.
He picked the brains or Brown and Martin to find out how they handled things, then came up with his own plan of attack.
That included not just having the American team offensive line do typical one-on-one blocking, but also included showing how they worked combo-blocks in two-on-one situations.
"They give us the freedom to develop that ourselves," Williams said of the unit practice plans. "I think you want to see all of it. Football drills, they're football-like, they're not football. So sometimes, you try to get two-on-one, one-on-one, just to see that competition."
If he had any questions about how he was running drills, he didn't have far to look for help. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who spends his time at the Senior Bowl on the field instead of in the stands, was keeping an eye on the offensive line-defensive line drills – as he seemingly always does.
"You know he loves the bigs," Williams said with a laugh. "He's always going to linger and be around the bigs. That's Coach T. That's Pittsburgh. Any time you can get him on the field and listen to what he has to say, it's valuable information."
There's plenty of valuable information being gleaned by all here this week. But for Williams, it goes beyond even that.
He's getting an opportunity to show that he's capable of training a group of young players to be a cohesive unit in just one week.
They're talented young players, but many of them are trying different positions than the ones they're accustomed to competing at. And they go to Williams to see exactly what it is they can do to be better and succeed.
"Any time you get a chance to coach football with a group of guys who are looking to take it to the next level in the NFL, it's a great opportunity," Williams said. "This is what I love to do, so I'm enjoying every single moment of it. No doubt."
• There are a number of big-time prospects available on both the American and National rosters, but this year, two of the top center prospects happen to also be on the same roster.
Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia's Zach Frazier are both on the National roster.
NFL.com NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently released his list of the top 50 prospects available in this year's draft and had both among his top players available, with Jackson-Powers ranked 35th and Frazier at 37.
Powers-Johnson had a strong practice on Tuesday, even drawing a couple of words from Tomlin at one point.
Powers-Johnson was all smiles after practice talking about his interaction with Tomlin.
"That was the first time I met him," Powers-Johnson said. "I saw him last night at interviews, and I wanted to talk to him. He was talking to someone else, so I just wanted to shake his hand. That's how much respect I have for him."
He not only got that opportunity, but he also had an advantage over Frazier. Frazier suffered a broken fibula late in the season for West Virginia and isn't able to do much in terms of workouts – he did snap the ball a couple of times Tuesday. But he does expect to be cleared for workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February or at the very least, at West Virginia's pro day.
"When I was out here today, it's tempting to want to jump in there," Frazier said.
If anyone might do that, it could be Frazier.
Frazier was injured late in a loss to Baylor in late November. With just over one minute remaining and the Mountaineers trailing by 4 points, he suffered a fractured fibula. West Virginia had no timeouts remaining, so if Frazier stayed on the field, the clock would have stopped, but there then would have been a 10-second runoff following his departure with trainers.
He didn't want to chance it. He first began crawling off the field, then got to his feet and limped off.
"I knew something wasn't right with my leg. I felt like my foot was kind of twisted the wrong way," Frazier said. "It was a two-minute drill, so usually I get up and sprint to the ball, wherever it is. I couldn't do that, so I kind of crawled off the field. I just knew I had to get off and I didn't want our team to have a 10-second runoff."
Nobody is going to question Frazier's toughness.
What might be in question, however, is which of the two might be the first center taken in this year's draft.
That's what Powers-Johnson is here in Mobile to prove.
"I'm a finisher," Johnson-Powers aid. "That's my MO. The game is supposed to be played physically, and that's what I love to do.
"I want to show I'm the best center on the board and that I'm a hard worker. I'm a passionate football player."
