Alex Officer stood on the sidelines in shock as he watched one of the leaders on his football team get carried off the field with what appeared to be a serious injury.

The injured player, junior Artie Rowell, had started every single game at center the year prior. In the middle of the second game of the season, it was now up to Officer, a redshirt freshman, and sophomore Gabe Roberts to replace one of the most important players on Pittsburgh’s (4-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) team.

Eventually Officer was able to stand out over Roberts and win the job, helping replace Rowell to anchor a line that powers and opens hole for the third-leading rusher in the NCAA in Pitt’s James Connor. This weekend, the Rochester native will get to showcase the strides he has made as the starting center this season against Syracuse (3-7, 1-5), a team he rooted for as a child.

“I just approach it like every other game,” Officer said. “Just got to go out there and do our jobs and hopefully get the win.”

Although Officer lived for most of his childhood in Rochester, he and his older brother were born in Miami, where he lived until the age of 6 or 7.

His brother, Jerome Lewis, was a football player. Having Lewis, who now plays tight end for Akron, constantly around the home made Officer want to work and compete to not fall behind his brother in football.

“I didn’t want to live in his shadow,” Officer said. “Everything he did, I wanted to do bigger and better. When he started doing something, I would do it and a little bit extra. I always felt like it was a competition, which kept me on the right path, kept me working hard.”

As he started looking into colleges, Officer admits he definitely thought about attending Syracuse. But he said growing up a fan of the team did not affect his decision at all. In the end, he just felt more at home as a Panther.

“When I first visited Pitt, I felt right at home with the coaching staff,” Officer said. “They were real with me and they told me up front how everything was going to go. It’s also not 45 minutes away like Syracuse, but it was pretty close.”

When Rowell went down the second game of this season against Boston College, head coach Paul Chryst originally put Roberts in and allowed him to finish the game.

But going into that week of practice, Chryst sat both of them down and told them they would compete throughout the week to start that first game without Rowell. Chryst decided at the end of the week to go with Officer for the game, and Officer has started every game since.

“Well, we thought that he gave us the best chance for our offense to be at its best,” Chryst said. “Alex has certainly grown throughout the season. He’s a guy that’s got good athletic ability for his size and toughness, so certainly is growing this season.”

What’s been a process for Officer has been learning the protections. The center also has to call out and move around protection for his quarterback depending on if he thinks they are blitzing, what side the blitz may be coming from and if it’s zone coverage.

“It is a lot of work learning all that stuff,” Officer said. “Just got to get into the film room, pay attention to detail and make sure you know what you’re doing because it can get overwhelming. You just have to put the time in.”

Matt Rotheram, Pittsburgh’s starting right guard, noticed Officer’s initial struggles to adjust to the collegiate game and learn the protections, but also how hard Officer has worked to correct those mistakes.

“He has this ability to learn as he goes,” Rotheram said. “He struggled at first trying to get up to speed, but he’s a fast learner and he’s picked up pretty quickly. He’s done well.”

Published on November 20, 2014 at 12:20 am

Contact Ryan: rlraigro@syr.edu