Zach Banner won the most prominent positional battle in the Steelers' training camp, but he hardly was declaring some sustained victory Thursday.
The day after Mike Tomlin named him the starting right tackle ahead of Chuks Okorafor, Banner met with media following practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and made clear he isn't taking anything for granted beyond the first snap of the opener Monday night against the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.
"We can all celebrate now, but if I go out Monday night and suck, I'm done," Banner said, blunt as ever. "That's the bottom line."
He apparently did appreciate getting the word from Mike Tomlin, calling his mom and dad, Ron and Vanessa Banner, to share.
"They were excited," Banner recalled. "My parents have been in this business of football with me for a long time, since second grade, just sports in general, when we're able to add something to the quote-unquote trophy case for my resume. But now it's onto the next goal."
Banner's entering his fourth NFL season, but this is his first meaningful shot. The Colts drafted him in the fourth round in 2017 and, though he made their 53-man roster out of his first camp, he was cut a day later. Trouble with keeping his weight down came to a visible halt this year, with his frame now down to 335 pounds. He credited a hard focus, as well as reducing his points of outside contact.
"When you have people around you who care about you like that, not only from a science perspective, but from a family perspective, that's the best thing," Banner said. "I closed my circle this offseason, and I have no regrets about it."
Randy Fichtner praised the newest starter on his offense.
"He earned the job," Fichtner said. "Zach is that perfect example of a guy who took care of his body, committed himself to a routine, and he was fanatical about trying to do the right things physically.”
As for Banner's long-stated dream of catching a pass as the tackle-eligible tight end in the jumbo set, Fichtner added with a grin, "It's officially dead."