He's a 6-foot-2, 300-pound center who anchors the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line, but something about Hank Fraley invites comparisons to pastries.
Just ask Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
"He looks like a big Honey Bun," said McNabb of the guy who teammates call "Honey Buns" after the Tastykake treat.
"I guess that's going to be my nickname (in Pittsburgh) now, too," said Fraley, 27, when told that McNabb leaked the moniker to the local media on a conference call earlier this week. "It was from my rookie season. We were taking photos and it was a pretty hot day. People were sweating, there were lots of bees out and Donovan and my teammates were joking around. They said something about 'You must be sweating honey.' I don't know how the buns part got there."
Pun intended or not, Fraley added, "It's a pretty sticky nickname. It's been with me five years."
Fraley and the undefeated Eagles roll into Pittsburgh for the biggest game in the NFL on Sunday, but this side of the commonwealth is familiar territory for the former Robert Morris player who broke into the league with the Steelers.
The Gaithersburg, Md., native went undrafted in 2000, which wasn't a surprise to Colonials coach Joe Walton.
"Small-college syndrome," said Walton, who made his own Fraley-pastry comparison, when he said that Fraley looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy his freshman year at Robert Morris.
But Walton said he and his staff knew that Fraley had the ability to play in the NFL.
They lobbied for sports agent Ralph Cindrich to take Fraley on, and he was signed as a free agent by the Steelers in April 2000.
It wasn't a long run with the Steelers. Just long enough for the rest of the NFL to take notice.
"In the exhibition season, the Steelers had a lot of injuries to their offensive line so he played a lot," Walton said. "He played almost every preseason game. So, he was no secret anymore."
With the last cuts of camp that year, the Steelers not surprisingly let Fraley go with the intention of signing him to the practice squad. But he never made it that far. The Eagles claimed him off waivers immediately.
"I thought things were going really well until last cuts," Fraley said. "It comes down to numbers sometimes. I didn't clear waivers and left the next day. It was kind of sad to be leaving Pittsburgh, but on the other hand, I was happy to be going to the Eagles."
He didn't play in 2000, but when Bubba Miller went down with an ankle injury for the Eagles in the final preseason game of 2001, Fraley stepped in. Now in 62 games, he has started all but one including seven in the postseason and last year paved the way for the Eagles' three-running back system.
"He's going to be an All-Pro one of these days," said Walton, the Steelers' offensive coordinator from 1990-91. "I believe that. I really do. He's an excellent player."
Most weeks, Walton roots for the Steelers.
"Not this week," he said. "Not with Hank playing."
