A year ago, Spencer Pulley was fresh out of Vanderbilt coming into OTAs as an undrafted free agent fighting for his career.
Fast forward to week two of 2017's OTAs and the center admits this offseason is a lot less stressful than last.
"It's been great," Pulley said. "It's great to be back with all these guys and some of the new guys we have. It's a little different from last year, but it's nice to have Coach (Anthony) Lynn, new offensive line coach Pat Meyer, Russell (Okung) and some of the same guys on the line that I learned a lot from last year. I'm definitely blessed to come here because I've been able to learn from some of the best players. Being able to work with Matt Slauson all the time and Philip Rivers is amazing. He's one of the best to ever do it. I don't know if I could have gone to other places and been able to learn as much as I have over the last year."
After making the 53-man roster last September and now with a year of NFL experience under his belt, Pulley has been taking reps with the first offensive line unit. His success within a year of work is not surprising to the man taking his snaps.
"He was a guy we found out early on last year, at this time of year where we went, 'Who is this Pulley guy?'" Rivers explained. "I knew him because my brother was there at Vandy with him for a year, but it just wasn't too big for him right off the bat. He's had a heck of an offseason and he's right in there with that first group right now so we'll see where it goes."
Having that QB-center continuity is something that is important for both Rivers and the offensive line as the position has essentially been influx since 2014. While Slauson held the reins last year, he has been working inside at left guard with Pulley taking most of the snaps at the center position thus far this offseason.
"I have a great comfort level with Spencer," Rivers said. "That's what he played in college his whole time there at Vandy. Slauson was great all last year (playing) almost every snap (under center). Spencer played some in there, but I have a good feel with him. From a snap standpoint, a communication standpoint, he played a lot for us last year too at guard. So he's used to being in there with us."
"I think we've been able to work on that a good bit last year and definitely this offseason and into OTAs," Pulley continued. "(Things like) getting used to each other, the snap-handoff, the communication (like) how we call things out and how he changes it. It's been good."
As the offseason continues, it will be notable to see if Pulley cements himself as part of the starting line. However, for the time being, he's enjoying his second offseason and plans on working on the little things to help his team for the coming season.
"It's great having more confidence and having a year in the books. You come out here and get to see more fine-tuned things. You work on the little details which is great because that's what makes a great team."
