Pouncey again apologizes for his Hernandez cap

Associated Press

LATROBE, PA.

Maurkice Pouncey is eager to talk about something other than his questionable choices in headwear.

Like his job, mostly.

The Pittsburgh Steelers center began training camp by apologizing again on Friday for being pictured wearing a baseball cap earlier this month supporting former college teammate Aaron Hernandez. Pouncey and twin brother Mike — who played with Hernandez at Florida — wore hats that read “Free Hernandez” during their co-birthday party in Miami.

Hernandez is in jail in Massachusetts facing a murder charge in the death of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. He has pleaded not guilty.

No matter the context of the picture, Pouncey understands it was a poor choice.

“I know I took a lot of heat for it and I probably should have,” Pouncey said.

The incident was enough for Pouncey to have a brief chat with coach Mike Tomlin about the situation. While Tomlin declined to get into details about the discussion, Pouncey left little doubt that he will be focused on becoming the unquestioned leader on one of the NFL’s youngest offensive lines and not any push to clear Hernandez’s name.

“I understand it was a serious situation,” he said. “I apologize if I offended anybody. You know what? I’m here to play football.”

So are the four players he hopes to line up alongside of this season. The Steelers slumped to 8-8 last year thanks in part to a steady stream of injuries to the line and in the backfield. Pittsburgh finished in the bottom 10 in the league in rushing yards, yards per carry and rushing touchdowns last season while missing the playoffs for the second time since Tomlin took over in 2007.

“Not making the playoffs is unacceptable here, everybody knows that,” Pouncey said.

It’s one of the main reasons most of the line’s young guns — Pouncey, tackles Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams and guard David DeCastro — spent a lengthy portion of the offseason working out together. The quartet, none of whom are older than 25, understand the ability for the Steelers to bounce back relies largely on their ability to stay on the field.

Adams included. The second-round pick in the 2012 draft saw his career jeopardized by a late-night attack outside a Pittsburgh restaurant on June 1. He was stabbed in the forearm and abdomen during the attempted robbery and spent six weeks recovering.

Yet Adams was on the field at Saint Vincent College on Friday running alongside his teammates during a conditioning test. He passed with ease and is expected to begin camp as the starting right tackle.

“That’s where I’m at right now,” he said.

It’s also what the Steelers had in mind when they cut veteran Willie Colon in March in a cost-cutting move and let Max Starks walk during free agency.

Now the “old guy” on the line is 27-year-old Ramon Foster, who made the team five years ago as an undrafted free agent but has finally worked his way into a starting role.