Packers center JC Tretter stretches during organized team activities in June. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — The exercise was called the hook slide shield drill.

In May, 2013, during the Green Bay Packers' first organized team activity practice, then-rookie center JC Tretter suffered a broken fibula and tore ligaments in his ankle during that drill. The drill had players focus on recovering fumbles, first sliding to loose balls, then trying to cradle them.

Instead, Tretter's cleat got stuck in the ground and he suffered an injury that took away most of his season.

"All I heard was snap, crackle, pop," Tretter said.

That drill, which was a unique one for offensive linemen, appears to have been retired.

"We have yet to do that drill again," Tretter said. "They haven't made an announcement, but we've yet to see it."

But Tretter hopes Packer Nation will be seeing much more of him in 2014.

The Packers let Evan Dietrich-Smith walk in free agency in March. So for the fourth consecutive season, Green Bay will have a new starting center.

Tretter didn't play last season and practiced only the final seven weeks. But he left such a favorable impression then and this spring that he's the front-runner for the job.

And this 23-year-old from Cornell who's never played an NFL snap might be the biggest key to Green Bay's line play in 2014.

"J.C. Tretter I think really made an impression on everybody, most importantly his teammates," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "He's a powerful young man, really strong hands, really intelligent. I don't know if there was a day that you did not see him here from the time the season ended. I think he's progressing very nicely."

Much of that is due to how well Tretter progressed after his injury last spring.

Tretter's parents did much of the heavy lifting for him immediately after the injury. Then during training camp, Tretter got around via shuttle services.

By last September, though, Tretter was walking and driving again. From there, his recovery escalated.

"Once I started walking, it went from walking to running and then out to the Hutson Center, running sprints and doing agility drills," Tretter said. "And that was really gauging whether or not I had enough to come back."

He did. Tretter began the season on physically unable to perform list, but was activated Dec. 10 after impressing his bosses during practices and in classroom work.

"He certainly got better as each week went along," Packers offensive line coach James Campen said. "Same kind of guy we saw when he was drafted here. Confident, smart guy that knows his stuff. He was prepared when he came back."

Tretter (6-foot-4, 307 pounds) is an inch taller than Dietrich-Smith and extremely athletic for the position. Tretter was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in basketball at Akron Central High School (N.Y.). Tretter then played tight end and left tackle at Cornell.

The knock on Tretter was a lack of explosiveness and the ability to anchor vs. bull rushes. But Tretter can't wait to try proving the naysayers wrong.

"I think I'm a lot better now than I was at that point," Tretter said. "And this off-season, I just said I was going to handle my business and prepare like I know how to prepare and then go from there."

The Packers brought in competition, drafting rookie Corey Linsley in the fifth round. And while Linsley is slightly undersized (6-3, 301) and has athletic limitations, he is a mauler who started at center for Ohio State the past two years.

Undersized Garth Gerhart (6-1, 310), who finished last year on Green Bay's practice squad, will also be given a chance, but is a major underdog.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn't seem to care who wins the center job. But there's no question, he'd like some continuity at the position.

"It's tough," Rodgers said. "I think as a quarterback you really appreciate when you can have some continuity there and some consistentcy as far as the same guy being there for multiple years."

If the Packers can find an answer at center, the offensive line should be a strength in 2014.

Pro Football Focus evaluated offensive line play of all 32 teams after last season, and Green Bay's ranked 10th. The Packers were third in pass blocking, 17th in run blocking and screen blocking, and 16th in penalty rank.

Thanks in part to steady, consistent line play, the Packers ranked third in the NFL in total yards a season ago (400.2). Green Bay finished seventh in rushing (133.5) — its best mark since 2003 — and sixth in passing offense.

Josh Sitton made the switch to left guard seem like a stroke of genius. Sitton allowed just one sack in 2013, gave no quarter against the game's elite interior rushers, and according to Pro Football Focus had a positive grade in 16 of the Packers' 17 games.

Right guard T.J. Lang is a steady, reliable performer. What Lang lacks in athleticism he more than makes up for in strength and brains.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari was one of Green Bay's biggest surprises a year ago. Bakhtiari stepped in after Bryan Bulaga tore his ACL last summer and certainly didn't play like a rookie.

Bakhtiari is extremely athletic and has outstanding movement skills. Bakhtiari made strength gains this off-season, and should be better prepared to handle some of the league's elite pass rushers.

Bulaga is the front-runner at right tackle, the position he started at during the Packers' Super Bowl season of 2010. But his injury history has to be a major concern for the organization.

Bulaga missed four games in 2011 with two different knee injuries, then sat out the final two months of 2012 with a hip injury. After an ACL injury took 2013 from Bulaga, he's played in just 42 of a possible 69 career games (60.9%).

"Bryan Bulaga looks good," McCarthy said. "He's stronger. He weighs a little more than he has in the past. So he's having a heck of a spring."

If Bulaga falters, gritty Don Barclay could seize the day. A year ago, Barclay beat out Marshall Newhouse for the right tackle job and never gave it back.

Like Mark Tauscher a decade ago, Barclay doesn't always look pretty doing his work. He led the Packers with 39 pressures allowed last season. But more often than not, Barclay finds a way to get the job done.

"Donny Barclay, to me, is a starting football player," McCarthy said. "He's earned the opportunity to compete for a starting position and, you know, him and Bryan will compete on the right side."

Tackle Derek Sherrod, a first-round pick in 2011, has played in just 12 games in three seasons. He gets maybe one last chance to salvage his career in Green Bay.

When training camp arrives, though, the center position promises to be filled with drama and intrigue.

"Hey, it's going to be a lot of fun," Tretter said. "Obviously you'd love to be the guy. You just want to be the guy who steps up and helps the team win and that's the goal."

MEN IN THE MIX

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College David Bakhtiari T 6-4 300 22 2 Colorado Josh Sitton G 6-3 318 28 7 Central Florida JC Tretter T 6-4 307 23 2 Cornell T.J. Lang G 6-4 318 26 6 Eastern Michigan Bryan Bulaga T 6-5 314 25 5 Iowa Don Barclay T/G 6-4 305 25 3 West Virginia Corey Linsley C 6-3 301 22 R Ohio State Derek Sherrod T 6-6 321 25 4 Mississippi State Lane Taylor G 6-3 324 24 2 Oklahoma State Garth Gerhart C 6-1 310 25 1 Arizona State Aaron Adams T 6-5 303 25 1 Eastern Kentucky John Fullington T 6-5 300 23 R Washington State Jeremy Vujnovich T 6-5 300 23 R Louisiana College Andrew Tiller G 6-4 324 25 2 Syracuse Jordan McCray G 6-3 322 22 R Central Florida

This article appeared in Packer Plus Magazine