Pittsburgh Steelers adding Gators great Maurkice Pouncey to hall of honor

According to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ official web site, the team’s “Hall of Honor is the ultimate recognition for those who have made immeasurable contributions to the organization, whether it be on the field, or off the field.” Now, it is about to include a Florida Gators star from the ultra-successful 2000s decade.

The team announced Saturday that center Maurkice Pouncey, who played 11 seasons with the Steelers and before that was at UF, is one of three getting inducted into the Hall of Honor Class of 2025. He will join quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker Joey Porter Sr.

“I want to thank Maurkice for his outstanding efforts both on and off the field over the past 11 years,” Steelers President Art Rooney II told Steeler.com. “He was an amazing teammate and leader that so many looked up to throughout his playing career.”

Maurkice Pouncey was a dominant force in the NFL

Wrote Steelers.com of Pouncey:

The center position for the Pittsburgh Steelers is one that has been built on consistency. There is a legacy, handed down from players through the decades, players like Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson, the best of the best who are immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Maurkice Pouncey’s name is right up there with the best of them, and he will forever be remembered with the top centers ever to wear the black and gold.

Pouncey was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the 18th overall pick. Shortly after Pouncey arrived at Saint Vincent College for his rookie training camp, he earned the starting job, and he held it from that day until he decided to end his NFL career.

In his rookie season he would stabilize a position previously held by journeymen Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig for a team that went on to reach Super Bowl XLV. Pouncey was unable to play in the Super Bowl after injuring an ankle in the AFC Championship Game victory over the New York Jets. He won the Joe Greene Great Performance Award that season, given annually to the team’s Rookie of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America, to become the first offensive lineman to win it since 2000.

Maurkice Pouncey was All-Pro multiple times

Pouncey didn’t need much time to establish himself as a starter in the NFL, and he quickly built on his growing resume. He became the first center in NFL history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons (2010-12) and went on to be a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, including in 2020. He was twice voted first-team Associated Press All-Pro (2011, 2014) and was a second-team AP All-Pro selection three times (2010, 2012 and 2018).

Pouncey was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 2010s, an honor Webster earned in the 1970s and 1980s, with a spot on an All-Decade team typically leading to being enshrined in Canton.

Pouncey Fast Facts:
– Played in 134 games (134 starts) over 11-year career with Steelers
– Nine-Time Pro Bowl Selection (2010-12, 2014, 2016-20)
– Five-time All-Pro Selection (2010-12, 2014, 2018)
– Four-Time Team Captain (2013, 2018-20)
– Three-Time All-Pro First Team Selection (2011-12, 2014)
– Named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team

He also was an All-American with the Gators

Prior to playing in the NFL, Pouncey had great success with the Gators.

One of the top linemen in school history, he started 39 games at UF, was a national champion, and won the 2009 Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s best center. Pouncey was a consensus All-American that season. He left UF after his junior season and was the 18th overall draft pick in 2010. In the NFL, he had what likely was a Hall of Fame career. Pouncey was first-team All-Pro twice and second-team All-Pro three times.