LATROBE — With all the injuries, position battles and chaos of shuffling players around the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line, the team considers itself fortunate to have a stable Pro Bowl anchor in the middle.

Even if this pillar of stability is only three weeks removed from his 22nd birthday.

Taken with the 18th pick of last year’s draft, Maurkice Pouncey so impressed the Steelers early during training camp of his rookie year that he won the starting job at center. Almost immediately, Pouncey developed into one of the best of the league at his position.

Forget the sophomore slump, his teammates say. Still the second-youngest of the 90 players in Pittsburgh’s camp, Pouncey has gone from 20-year-old draftee to respected, reliable team leader in a matter of 16 months.

“He’s the spark on our offensive line,” guard/center Doug Legursky said. “He’s going to lead us.”

He’s being depended on to do just that for a unit that will have different starters at three of the four other positions from last season’s Super Bowl team.

“There’s a lot of pressure on me this year,” Pouncey said, “so I’m ready for it. We’ve got some older guys, but I definitely want to be part of the anchor of the offensive line and contribute my part.”

A three-year starter before leaving school after his junior year at Florida — his twin brother, Mike, was a first-round pick of the Dolphins this year — Pouncey appears to be the next in the line of great Pittsburgh centers.

The Steelers had just four starting centers between 1964-2006. Three were selected to multiple Pro Bowls, Mike Webster is already in the Hall of Fame and Dermonti Dawson has been a finalist for induction.

Yes, it’s only been one full season. But Pouncey is giving the Steelers reason to believe he can join that lineage after being the best lineman, at age 21, on a team that won the AFC championship. The only down note from last season, is that Pouncey did not play in the Super Bowl due to a high ankle sprain.

“He’s incredible,” said Rashard Mendenhall, who was fifth in the AFC in rushing yards and tied for second in rushing touchdowns running behind Pouncey last season. “Maurkice is just a very smart player, very athletic, and he’s just a dog. He’s not going to back down from anything. You see that everyday when you watch film, you see it everyday in practice.”