From Colin Likas, The News-Gazette:

Kendrick Green was napping Sunday morning when a call came across his phone. From a Pittsburgh-area number.

Not a surprise, considering the now-former Illinois guard was drafted 87th overall Friday by the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Who was delivering that phone call, however, still gave Green a bit of a jolt.

“I answer the phone and he’s like, ‘Hey, it’s Ben Roethlisberger,’ and I’m just talking it up to him,” Green said of the Steelers’ 17-year starting quarterback. “I told him, ‘As long as I can remember, you’ve been the quarterback for the Steelers.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, way to make me feel old.'”

Green’s next goal is to earn a regular job protecting Roethlisberger.

“I plan on trying to take the job right away,” Green said. “I’m going to go in and compete. They’ve got some older guys that have been in the league for a little bit there at that position. Kind of surreal, to be honest, but I’m ready to do it.”

Which position is Green vying for, exactly?

“We’re going to start working on center,” Green said. “They liked the tape I put on at center when I did have to fill in for Doug (Kramer). But overall, I think what it was is just the fact that, regardless of what position I was playing, I’m trying to go out there playing hard, trying to finish guys and put people on their back.”

“It was pretty nerve-racking, to be honest, but obviously it ended up working out well,” Green said. “I just want to prove to the Pittsburgh Steelers that they made the right choice.”


You can read more here.

You can check out a recap of all the Steelers draft picks here.