PITTSBURGH — While Knoch football looks to figure out what position best suits versatile athlete Mac Christy, his father has no problem with it.

He lived through such a process.

Jeff Christy, a 1987 Freeport graduate and an All-Pro center in the NFL, was one of seven athletes inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame Thursday at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.

“I never played center in my life until I got to the Minnesota Vikings,” Christy, 46, said. “(Head coach) Dennis Green told me I looked like a center and that I was going to play there.

“He even told me not to worry about blocking anybody, just about snapping the ball.”

Before he played center, Christy played just about everywhere else on the field.

“That’s what I’ve told my son,” Christy said. “You never know what position you’re going to wind up at or what will work the best for you.

“Whatever opportunity comes along, you have to be ready for it.”

At Freeport, Christy played fullback, linebacker and place-kicker. He booted a Yellowjackets’ record 43-yard field goal and led the WPIAL in scoring in 1985.

He finished his prep football career with 2,482 rushing yards and 337 points. He also made 340 tackles.

Christy’s versatility extended to other sports. He won a WPIAL championship in the shot put and hit .421 as a varsity baseball player his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He played basketball through his freshman year.

“I’m not sure why I quit baseball ... I remember telling my dad one day when I came home from school that I wanted to concentrate on football,” Christy said. “My one regret from high school is that I didn’t keep playing all of those sports all the way through.

“I encourage the kids I coach now to play as much as you can for as long as you can. Those high school years are lifetime memories.”

Christy lives in Saxonburg now and is a volunteer assistant football coach at Apollo-Ridge.

“There’s nothing like high school football in western Pa. on a Friday night,” Christy said. “I relished it as a player and I relish it now.

“I don’t see myself as a high school head coach or pursuing a career there. A line coach is all I want to be.”

Pitt recruited Christy as a fullback-linebacker. He started four games at linebacker as a freshman with the Panthers — subbing for the injured Jerry Olsavsky — and saw action at fullback his sophomore season.

He played right guard as a junior, left tackle as a senior with the Panthers.

“I think I even punted in there somewhere. I just got too big and too slow to run the ball or play linebacker,” he said. “When I first signed with Pitt, I remember telling my friends in high school that I’d get them all tickets to a game if I was ever moved to offensive line.

“I don’t think I ever paid up on that one,” he said, laughing.

Drafted in the fourth round by the Arizona Cardinals, Christy was released after spending a year on the practice squad. That’s when he signed with Minnesota, spending seven years with the Vikings and three with Tampa Bay. He won a Super Bowl as the Bucs’ starting center in 2003.

“I owe what I achieved in the NFL to Denny Green, really,” Christy said. “We became good friends over the years.

“Winning a championship is what you strive to do in team sports. Everything has to go right, from the top of the organization on down, to make that happen. People don’t realize how hard that is to accomplish.”

Getting into the WPIAL Hall of Fame isn’t exactly easy.

This year marks the ninth induction class for the Hall and Christy is only the second Butler County athlete to get in. Butler girls soccer standout Meghan Schnur was inducted last year.

Beaver Falls graduate Ed Olkowski, a member of the Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame for his basketball and baseball exploits at The Rock, was one of four coaches inducted Thursday.

Olkowski was 322-96 in 17 years as head boys basketball coach at Midland, winning seven WPIAL titles and four PIAA crowns. He is one of only three WPIAL basketball coaches to ever do so.

“It’s a daunting task to determine the most deserving inductees into this Hall of Fame and the efforts of our committee are unmatched in that regard,” WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said.

Jim Collins is chairman of the Hall of Fame committee.

“We went over more than 150 applications in determining this class,” Collins said. “We met three or four different times. These are deserving individuals.”

Other athletes going in this year are Mt. Lebanon swimmer Kaitlyn Orstein Fife, Frazier football standout and current Hampton basketball coach Joe Lafko, Mt. Lebanon golfer Missie Berteotti, Monessen basketball standout Gina Naccarato, North Allegheny baseball and football star Paul Failla and Penn Hills football and wrestling standout Tom Tumulty.

Other coaches gaining induction are North Allegheny swim coach Kirk “Corky” Semler, Brentwood basketball and cross country coach Dave Warner and Blackhawk football coach Joe Hamilton.

The 1990 Penn Hills girls basketball team and 1971 Kiski Area football team were also inducted.

The WPIAL Hall of Fame is displayed at the museum.

“These accomplishments serve as inspiration to new generations of student athletes,” said Ann Madarasz, HOF committee member and director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. “We have 30,000 students coming through here on field trips to this museum every year.

“These athletes’ stories live on here.”