STEELERS Rookie TE Kranchick is praised

The former Penn State standout is showing more confidence this week.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher says one game -- no, make that one play -- has given rookie tight end Matt Kranchick the confidence he needs to make it in the NFL.
Kranchick caught a 34-yard pass late in the fourth quarter Saturday night to put the Steelers in position to score the go-ahead touchdown in their preseason opener. The play atoned for an earlier mistake and elicited praise from his coach.
"You can just see the way he's carrying himself in practice this week," said Cowher. "It's night and day. He's doing things at a faster pace; he's catching the ball. You can just see the confidence level is so much higher and you can tell he's a lot more comfortable."
Kranchick came out of Penn State with only one year of experience at tight end, but he was certainly a playmaker. A converted 6-foot-7 wide receiver, Kranchick pulled down 22 balls -- averaging 15.3 yards per catch -- including a team-high 73-yarder.
Learning to block
"I don't know if my confidence changed, but it felt good to do it in that type of situation," said Kranchick, a Carlisle native. "If felt good to have something good happen to me. I've been out here getting my head kicked in by these veterans, like Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell, learning how to block, so it felt good to get out there and make some plays."
Blocking has been a problem for Kranchick, who weighs 260 pounds. He moved to tight end as a senior at Penn State because an assistant coach "saw a lot of Troy Drayton in me," Kranchick said of the former Penn State and NFL tight end.
"I was kind of out of options, but the move worked out perfectly. I couldn't ask for anything better."
And so Kranchick is learning how to block at the highest level of the game, and he's paying the price.
"It's coming, but it's hard because I didn't do any of it in college," he said. "To have to come out here and learn it against some of the best players in the world is not the easiest task."