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Duke Preston was drafted by the Buffalo Bills as a center but spent most of his rookie season at guard. After spending all of the offseason and much of training camp at guard, he is getting reps at center.
Just when he had gotten comfortable at one position, Preston has to get used to playing another. At least he's moving to an area he knows.
"It's kind of weird just because I've gotten into the mode of playing guard and now going back to center is a little bit of a change," Preston said. "But playing center is kind of like riding a bike in that you don't forget how to do it once you've done it before. It's cool to kind of have an opportunity to get back to a familiar position, but more important to have the opportunity to show that I can be versatile and play more than one position. In my situation, I have to be versatile."
Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally often preaches to his proteges that the more you can do the better. By buying into that, Preston has become the Bills' most valuable backup offensive lineman.
Preston played in 15 games last season as a rookie, primarily on special teams. He started once and appeared in five contests overall at right guard as an injury replacement for Chris Villarrial.
The Bills had planned all along to give Preston time at guard then move him back to his usual position. "We didn't know for sure when we were going to put him at center," McNally said. "But we knew that before training camp was over he had to go back and play some center because obviously if he's active in the game he's got to be able to play center and guard. He's got to be able to block and get better at those positions. But having a guy who does both is invaluable to us."
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Just when he had gotten comfortable at one position, Preston has to get used to playing another. At least he's moving to an area he knows.
"It's kind of weird just because I've gotten into the mode of playing guard and now going back to center is a little bit of a change," Preston said. "But playing center is kind of like riding a bike in that you don't forget how to do it once you've done it before. It's cool to kind of have an opportunity to get back to a familiar position, but more important to have the opportunity to show that I can be versatile and play more than one position. In my situation, I have to be versatile."
Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally often preaches to his proteges that the more you can do the better. By buying into that, Preston has become the Bills' most valuable backup offensive lineman.
Preston played in 15 games last season as a rookie, primarily on special teams. He started once and appeared in five contests overall at right guard as an injury replacement for Chris Villarrial.
The Bills had planned all along to give Preston time at guard then move him back to his usual position. "We didn't know for sure when we were going to put him at center," McNally said. "But we knew that before training camp was over he had to go back and play some center because obviously if he's active in the game he's got to be able to play center and guard. He's got to be able to block and get better at those positions. But having a guy who does both is invaluable to us."
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