5 surprise players who made Steelers 53-man roster in 2020

J.C. Hassenauer

J.C. Hassenauer was one of the biggest shockers to go on the 53 just because the Steelers kept one more offensive lineman then most had expected. He plays center so that even added onto the shock factor of this move as others expected them to keep and extra tackle if another offensive lineman was kept.

Hassenauer is an interesting player that originally came out of Alabama and then had a few cups of coffee with some NFL teams before joining the Alliance of American Football’s Birmingham Iron. After that league folded he was signed by the Steelers and the rest is history as he stuck around of their practice squad.

He sticks around to be the second true center behind starter Maurkice Pouncey, even though Stefen Wisniewski would play before he did in case of injury. Hassenauer had a solid camp by most reporter’s remarks when they were allowed to observe. The coaching staff liked what they saw the majority of the time and were afraid to lose him to another team or maybe they just liked him that much and he deserved to be on the 53. J.C. mostly plays at the center position but he could be moved to guard even though he might stick to his original position unless injuries pile up on this team enough.