Wonder twins: Mike Pouncey ready to follow in brother's steps

INDIANAPOLIS -- Early on Wednesday morning, Maurkice Pouncey drove his twin brother from the family home in Lakeland, Fla., to the airport for the 6 a.m. flight here and this week's NFL Scouting Combine.

Fitting, since for the past year or more the Pittsburgh Steelers center has been helping to drive brother Mike Pouncey toward a much higher and a far pricier connection: A possible spot in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.

And the prodding might have worked.

Despite problems snapping the ball at times this season for the Gators, Mike Pouncey figures to be a first-round pick. (Getty Images)

Could happen. There is brotherly love, for sure, but also a sort of sibling rivalry.

"I won't sleep, man, if I don't go higher than he did," Mike Pouncey told The Sports Xchange early this week before departing for the combine. "I mean, I came back to [the Gators in 2010] for a reason. It's not like we have a bet or anything. He keeps saying, like, 'OK, you can go 19th [overall]. That would really be good.' But I want to be higher, if possible. That would be good, too."

It will, though, be difficult.

Since the millennium, there have been only four interior blockers selected in the top 20. Half of those, guard Mike Iupati (San Francisco, 17th) and Maurkice Pouncey (18th to the Steelers), were last year. Pouncey was the highest center taken in the draft since Damien Woody, now a tackle, was taken by New England with the 17th pick in 1999. He was the Steelers' first opening-round center since 1937 and one of only five centers chosen in the top 20 since 1980. Last year may have signaled a shift in emphasis by league scouts, although the tackle position again led blockers with four selected, or it might have been an aberration.

Either way, Mike Pouncey, who is prepared to work out at both guard and center for the NFL scouts this weekend, is ready to move on with things. And his brother, who is, not surprisingly, one of his biggest and most ardent supporters, has aided in his preparation for the next step.

By Mike Pouncey's count, the two brothers spoke by phone at least five times a day. The text messages?

"Almost continuous," said Mike Pouncey, "except maybe when he was at practice or in a game or something. But he got me ready. He told me what to expect [here in Indianapolis] and what the NFL is like.

"So, yeah, I think I'm ready."

A year ago, in what he characterized as an "agonizing" decision that precipitated "a lot of sleepless nights," Mike Pouncey determined he wasn't ready yet for the league. Compounding the angst was that Maurkice opted to forgo his final season of college eligibility to enter the draft. It was really the first time the twin brothers -- who were college roommates, took the same classes, even dated the same girl at different times -- were apart for any length of time.

Now, even though the odds are long that they will play in the NFL for the same team, the separation anxiety can sort of end.

"I'm sure that when I'm in [the league]," Mike said, laughing, "we'll share some notes and get our heads together on some stuff. I'll definitely listen to what he's learned."

There is a certain irony to Mike following his brother's lead. Usually, it is the younger brother who trails, but Mike is actually a few minutes older than his more famous sibling. The two were born via C-section on July 24, 1989 and for most of their shared 21 years, have been inseparable. Since age six, they played on the same football team, until last season.

Said Maurkice: "His big thing was that I make my own decision [about leaving school early], with no looking back, no worrying what he was going to do. He said maybe it was time we go out on our own. It was, 'It's always been about the Pouncey Twins. Do your own thing.' So I did."

In a way, Mike kind of did his younger brother's "thing" when Maurkice left for the NFL, sliding over from right guard to center to fill the void created there by his sibling's exit. Mike had played some on the defensive line in 2007 as a freshman, but started at right guard in 2008-2009, before going to center. The start of the season was particularly difficult, especially with shotgun snaps gone awry, but he is prepared to play center again, if that's what an NFL club desires of him next season.

From talking to scouts, though, it appears his best position is guard. The two have even talked about lining up next to each other in Pittsburgh, as they did at Florida, but Mike doesn't figure to be available when the Steelers pick at No. 31.

"There was a lot of [focus] on the bad shotgun snaps at the beginning of the year," said Mike, who has been training with noted speed coach Tom Shaw for the combine workouts. "But things got a lot better as the year went on. And people were looking at one or two snaps out of the 70 that I played, and making a judgment on them. Scouts, they're looking at all 70 plays and grading them. Judge me on a whole game. I think I can play."

So do a lot of other people.

Lightning might not strike twice with the Pouncey twins, because it would be hard to duplicate his brother's immediate success, but the talent evaluators here seem to agree that Mike will be a rookie starter.

He might not be as much a "can't-miss" prospect as his brother, but at 6-feet-4 1/4 and 310 pounds, Mike is plenty good. Guards typically are devalued a bit in the draft, but the consensus is that he will hear his name somewhere around the middle of the first round.

"He played a tough position in a tough conference," said Steve Addazio, the former UF offensive line coach/offensive coordinator, and now the Temple head coach. "He went up against the best players in the country and he more than held his own ... and, I would say, dominated at times. He's got everything you want physically. And his leadership skills really came to the forefront last season."

Even before his stepfather's rail-car accident in 2008, in which Robert Pouncey lost a leg, Mike has been a natural leader. At Florida in 2010, he assumed much of the vocal duty previously held by former Gators star Tim Tebow. The team that picks Mike, assessed Maurkice, will be getting more than a player.

"I'm probably not the right person to ask, because I'm [biased], but some team is going to get a really good player and good person," Maurkice said.

"It's his time now."

Len Pasquarelli is the Senior NFL Writer for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.