Professor

Satele may be rarity: Rookie starting at center

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Langer said he was also thankful he was entering his third season.

Samson Satele will likely have no such luck. The Dolphins' second-round pick enters training camp as the odds-on favorite to become just the second rookie to open a season as the Dolphins' starting center.

The other guy obviously wasn't Langer. And it wasn't Dwight Stephenson, either. No, the two greatest centers in Dolphins history, both Hall of Famers, didn't get their chances until their third seasons.

The only rookie to start a season at center was Jeff Uhlenhake, a solid, though often-injured player from 1989-93.

Satele, who played just one college season at center — he was a guard his first three seasons — seems in line to follow him.

"I don't think it's a position you necessarily want to be in, having to play a rookie at such a crucial position," Langer said from the office of his truck accessories company near Minneapolis. "I guess if it were my line, I probably wouldn't want to have the newest member making all the line calls, regardless if he's the center or not. That being said, you have to make do."

That's what current Dolphins offensive line coach Hudson Houck did successfully in 2004 with San Diego Chargers rookie Nick Hardwick, and what he plans to do with Satele.

"He's going to have to learn all of the defenses, and he's going to have to make most of the offensive line calls," Houck said. "I think he's ready to take that role on. It doesn't come easy, but since he's a pretty dedicated guy, I think he'll be very successful at that position."

Satele certainly has the size (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) to back up Houck's talk. He also draws raves about his athletic ability from two guys who would know — fullback Reagan Mauia and guard Tala Esera, fellow Dolphins rookies who also played with him at the University of Hawaii.

But even Satele acknowledges he needs to change his leadership style, which coach Cam Cameron said is essential for a center.

"It's like you hear me say about the quarterback position, center is a leadership position," Cameron said. "If a guy puts his hand on that ball and he's not a leader, you're in trouble."

At Hawaii, Satele was a lead-by-example guy who could get a teammate back in line with just a certain glance. However, Houck needs a vocal leader to anchor his line.

"I told coach Hudson straight up that I'm not a vocal guy," Satele said. "But if he wants me to be, I'll be. I'm a leader by actions. That's what I've been living by since I played Pop Warner.

"I want to get everybody's respect through my actions first and then be a vocal guy. I can't just be a vocal guy and not show these guys what I can do before I tell them what to do."

Houck said Satele is making progress.

"People believe in him as a leader," Houck said. "Right now, I don't think he's a very verbal leader, but he's certainly a leader in terms of work ethic and caring about his job.

"If you're a rookie, it's hard to really speak up and control the group. But considering he's a rookie, he's doing a pretty damn good job of it."

Asked if he had any advice for Satele, Langer said to eat, sleep and breathe football. That's what Langer and Bob Kuechenberg did 35 years ago.

"Kooch and I talked football 24 hours a day," Langer said.

The perfect results that followed speak for themselves to this day.

Lemon optimistic: Backup quarterback Cleo Lemon said he thinks Cameron will give him a legitimate chance to become the starter.

Cameron reiterated Wednesday that he has not settled on a starter despite the team's off-season trade for 14-year-veteran Trent Green.

"I believe in coach and he said it's an open competition," said Lemon, who was in San Diego for more than two seasons while Cameron was the Chargers' offensive coordinator.

With one NFL career start, Lemon also understands he'll have to be nothing short of spectacular to unseat Green, a two-time Pro Bowler who played under Cameron in the mid-'90s when he was the Washington Redskins' quarterbacks coach.

"I have to really outplay him," Lemon said. "It's going to take a lot to get him out of that starting position."

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