For the past four years, Jimmy Morrissey set the standard for Pitt centers.
He made 47 career starts at the position after walking onto the team as a freshman and earning the starting job year later. He went on to become the first Pitt center to earn an All-ACC selection (first team in 2019, second team last season by coaches and media, and first-team by the Associated Press.
While Morrissey was setting the standard, redshirt senior center Owen Drexel was following his every move.
“That’s the type of guy that you want to model yourself after,” Drexel said Tuesday during a video conference call. “Not only how he plays, he plays great, but it’s the way he acts off the field, the way he acts in the facility. He knows everyone’s name, and I’m trying to be the same way.”
Drexel hopes to do as much this season as he is set to take over the position he’s been yearning for since he joined the program in 2017. It took a lot of hard work to get to where he is today, and Drexel even admitted he needed time to develop. Luckily for Drexel, he had a perfect role model to teach him.
“The biggest thing from Jim is really just leading by example, especially with watching film,” Drexel said. “When I was younger, I wouldn’t always spend the time here that I needed to. Now, I’m here all day, year-round. It was just doing anything you could to get better and make my guys better.”
Over time, that work started to pay off. Between 2017 and ‘19, Drexel played in only three games after redshirting as a freshman. Last year was his first opportunity to get more playing time.
The Montclair, N.J., native played in six games and earned his first career start Oct. 10 against Boston College. With the number of injuries the Panthers were facing across the offensive line at the time, Morrissey slid to guard and Drexel filled in at center, which was a perfect situation for him.
“It was a little weird but I’ll take it,” Drexel said about having Morrissey next to him against Boston College. “But he sees the defense better than anybody, so I’ll take that guy to my right every time. On the sideline, he was helping me out and stuff, but in the game, he let me run the show, so I appreciated that.”
Drexel will have a lot more opportunities like that as he settles into a starting role, and he’s ready to take on the challenges that come along with it, including stepping up as a leader.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Drexel says that leadership role has come naturally to him over time.
“Like coach always says, ‘The center is the leader of the offensive line,’ ” Drexel said. “I’ve always wanted to be that for my guys and put them in the best position to win every rep.”
Considering the college athletics landscape, it could have been easy for Drexel to transfer and find a new home, but he said the thought never crossed his mind because of the culture that the Panthers have in the locker room and on the field.
“I mean these guys mean so much to me,” Drexel said. “I can’t really leave those guys, they are family.”
Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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April 23, 2021 at 07:48AM
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