County Players in Friendly Rivalry for Steeler Position

Shar Pourdanesh and Kris Farris say theirs is a friendly rivalry.

“We joke around a lot with each other,” Farris said. “I tell him I know I’m the best, and he keeps telling me he is.”

The Pittsburgh Steeler coaching staff will eventually have to decide who’s right.

For now, Pourdanesh and Farris are in a battle for one of the starting offensive tackle positions when the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 3 against the Baltimore Ravens.

A position duel between a veteran and a promising newcomer is hardly unusual in an NFL training camp--friendly or not. But this one has a twist:

With only about 25 players from Orange County trying to win jobs in the NFL this summer, what are the odds that two of them would be competing for the same job?

Their competition continues today as the Steelers play their second exhibition game, at home against Miami.

Pourdanesh played at University High, Farris at Santa Margarita, though their high school careers didn’t overlap because of the difference in their ages.

Pourdanesh, 29, is the veteran; Farris, 23, is preparing to play in his first NFL season after going on injured reserve early in training camp last season.

Each stands out in a crowd. Pourdanesh is 6-6, 315 pounds; Farris 6-8 and 322.

After high school, Pourdanesh played at Nevada, earning All-Big Sky Conference honors as a junior and All-Big West Conference as a senior. Pourdanesh tried out with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent, but was cut after only one day. He began his professional career the next year in the Canadian Football League, spending two seasons with the Baltimore Stallions, and was CFL offensive lineman of the year in 1994.

He finally got his shot in the NFL in 1996 when he began a three-year stint with the Washington Redskins, starting 28 games in his last two seasons with the Redskins.

The Steelers obtained him in a trade before last season.

Farris starred at UCLA, winning the Outland Trophy as college football’s top interior lineman in 1998. He left UCLA after his junior season and was selected in the third round of the draft by the Steelers.

Farris was supposed to begin his NFL career last season, but a stress fracture in his right ankle kept him on the sidelines.

Pourdanesh was on inactive reserve part of last season while learning the Steelers’ system, but started the final two games at right tackle. He played well enough to earn a shot at the starting job this season.

But Pourdanesh suspects the Steelers see Farris and rookie Marvel Smith as their top offensive linemen of the future and might put them on the fast track this season.

“Everything I’ve done in pro football I’ve had to fight for,” Pourdanesh said. “I had to fight and claw my way into training camp that first year with the Redskins. All three years I was there, it seemed like they had someone else set for the position but I beat them out. I went to the Redskins as a free agent and beat out one of their top draft choices that year. I feel I’ve accomplished a lot. I think I can start anywhere in the NFL.”

But Pourdanesh thinks he might have to win the starting job to stay with the Steelers this season because of his age and the young prospects the Steelers have in the offensive line.

“I’m sure coaches don’t consider me what they would call a great athlete,” Pourdanesh said. “I’m a big, strong guy who uses his strength and his brain. I’m a little slower than some people, and I know I look stiff out there, but I find a way to get the job done.”

Pourdanesh wasn’t highly recruited for football out of high school. He was a Southern Section champion in wrestling and was offered scholarships by Oklahoma State and Iowa, a couple of wrestling powerhouses. Nevada was the only Division I school that showed much interest in him for football, Pourdanesh said.

“I was 6-6 and only 210 pounds in high school, so I was pretty skinny,” Pourdanesh said. “The Nevada coaches were looking at another guy on film, and they got interested in me. I wanted to play football because I thought I’d have a better future there. When I went to college, my body matured.”

In contrast, Farris was highly recruited out of high school, earning All-American honors as a senior. He became a starter as a freshman at UCLA, and earned All-American honors as a junior, then decided to move on to the NFL. He hopes he can continue that run of success with the Steelers.

“It was frustrating to leave school early and then have to sit out last season,” Farris said. “I watched the Steelers struggle and UCLA struggle, and I couldn’t do anything to help either team. So it feels good to have the injury behind me.

“Being with the team all last season should help me, even though I couldn’t play. I learned a lot about the system. I feel like a veteran mentally, but I’m still a rookie physically.”

Farris played in his first game in more than a year last weekend in the exhibition opener against Dallas.

“Shar and I alternated in that game,” Farris said. “I’d be in for two series and he’d be in for two most of the time. I was satisfied with the way I played, but it still wasn’t me yet. I didn’t dominate the guy I played against, and I’m used to being able to do that.”

Kent Stephenson, the Steelers’ offensive line coach, acknowledged the two are locked in a “heated battle” for the starting spot.

“Shar has more experience, but Kris might have a little more range,” Stephenson said. “Shar isn’t the greatest athlete in the world, but he’s a tough guy and a real good competitor. They’re both working hard, and they’re helping each other.”

Both were moved to left tackle this week to gain experience on the other side of the line, but it’s not likely both would end up in a starting role. Former Ram Wayne Gandy, a six-year NFL veteran, is a returning starter at left tackle and is expected to be No. 1 again.

Smith, the Steelers’ second-round draft choice out of Arizona State, is expected to start at right tackle in today’s game. “The coaches told us they wanted to have a chance to see how he will do there,” Pourdanesh said.

The on-the-field competition between Pourdanesh and Farris might continue through the regular season, but both say they expect to remain friends, no matter what happens.

“Both of us being from Orange County gave us something to talk about, and our friendship developed from that,” Farris said. “We see a lot of each other since we’re at the same position, and it’s nice to have somebody you can talk to and joke around with.”

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In Camp

Players from Orange County in NFL training camps this summer:

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Player Pos. High School College Pro Camp Pat Barnes QB Trabuco Hills California San Francisco Steve Beuerlein QB Servite Notre Dame Carolina Darrin Chiaverini WR Orange Colorado Cleveland Kareem Clark DB Esperanza Arizona State Tennessee Chris Conrad OT Fullerton Fresno State Pittsburgh Scott Covington QB Dana Hills Miami Cincinnati Kevin Daft QB Foothill UC Davis Tennessee Reggie Davis TE Brethren Christian Washington San Diego Chris Draft LB Valencia Stanford Atlanta Reuben Droughns RB Anaheim Oregon Detroit Kris Farris OT Santa Margarita UCLA Pittsburgh Kevin Feterik QB Los Alamitos Brigham Young Seattle David Gibson DB El Toro USC Tampa Bay Tony Gonzalez TE Huntington Beach California Kansas City Trevor Insley WR San Clemente Nevada Indianapolis Rob Johnson QB El Toro USC Buffalo Travis Kirschke DT Esperanza UCLA Detroit Glenn Parker G/T Edison Arizona N.Y. Giants Tony Parrish DB Marina Washington Chicago Shar Pourdanesh OT University Nevada Pittsburgh David Richie DT Orange Washington San Francisco Brendan Stai G Esperanza Nebraska Kansas City Steve Stenstrom QB El Toro Stanford Detroit Jeff Thomasen TE Corona del Mar Oregon Green Bay Brad Williams G Mater Dei Notre Dame Chicago Jason Nevadomsky LB Fullerton UCLA Jacksonville

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