Wayne Gandy remembers the first time he played in a National Football League regular-season game. His teammate, Jackie Slater, kept warning him about the difference between the preseason and games that count in the standings. He told Gandy, then a rookie from Auburn, how the pace would be different, the intensity would be different, how everything would be different.
And then Gandy saw for himself.
"It was two or three notches more," Gandy said. "It was quicker, faster, guys start throwing their bodies around. They really go hunting the quarterback. You'll see guys really trying to stop the run.
"Like last week, [Washington defensive end] Marco Coleman was just sticking his arm out and trying to make sure he wasn't loafing when they watched the film. That's the way it is. They say when you get to the playoffs it goes up even more."
This is what Gandy, the Steelers' left tackle, has been trying to pass along to another unschooled rookie, Marvel Smith, who will start at right tackle when the Baltimore Ravens open the regular season at 1 p.m. Sunday at Three Rivers Stadium.
Smith, the team's No. 2 draft choice, started four preseason games on the right side after being switched from left tackle. But this will be his first appearance in a game that matters, and Gandy wants to be sure Smith, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound rookie, knows what to expect.
"I had the legendary Jackie Slater, and he schooled me on a lot of things, what was going to go on," Gandy said. "That's a real big key when you have any kind of young guys, either on the receiving corps or at quarterback. You need somebody around, not a coach, but someone actually on the field with you."
Smith, though, seems to be unlike any offensive lineman the Steelers have had.
To be sure, he is the first rookie offensive lineman since Chuck Noll became head coach in 1969 to start a season opener. No other Steelers lineman, not Mike Webster, not Dermontti Dawson, not Jon Kolb, not Larry Brown, started their first game in the National Football League.
Smith will, which is as much testament to his talent as it is to the gaping hole that has existed at right tackle for the past three seasons.
"I've been very pleased with what he's done," Coach Bill Cowher said. "He had a chance the last couple weeks against some pretty good rushers on the road. He's a rookie. The one thing about Marvel, he is no-nonsense, very quiet. He is not going to overreact to any situation. He has a good demeanor. I feel very good about him. I think since we have put him over there, I can honestly say that has not been something that anyone has given second thoughts to."
That, of course, is what Cowher has been hoping to accomplish for three years, since the first time Justin Strzelczyk injured his knee and the right tackle position started to have more open auditions than the public theater. In the interim, the Steelers started five players there in regular-season games -- former No. 1 pick Jamain Stephens, Jim Sweeney, Chris Conrad, Anthony Brown and Shar Pourdanesh. They also experimented in training camp with Paul Wiggins, a former No. 3 draft pick, and Kris Farris, a third-round pick last year who was cut two weeks ago. Of the candidates, only Pourdanesh remains with the team.
Smith becomes the seventh starter at that position in the past 27 games.
The Steelers figure that number won't change for a long time.
"As long as I keep improving," Smith said, "they shouldn't have anything to worry about."
Smith gets a rapid baptism against the Ravens, who have assembled a defense that ranks among the best in the National Football League. Baltimore has size in the middle with former Pitt tackle Tony Siragusa and free-agent acquisition Sam Adams, speed at linebacker with Peter Boulware, Ray Lewis and Jamie Sharper and three No. 1 picks in the secondary -- cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Duane Starks and safety Rod Woodson, a former Steeler.
Smith's assignment: Defensive end Rob Burnett, the oldest member of a defense that ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed (263.9) and did not surrender a 100-yard rusher in 1999.
"I expect them to come at me with everything because I'm a rookie," Smith said. "We'll see how I hold up against them.
"I just got to go out and perform and show there's a reason why I'm able to start right now. I'm feeling comfortable more and more every day. I feel I'm getting better and better with my technique. I'm looking forward to it a lot. It's what I've been looking forward to all my life."
Smith was a left tackle at Arizona State, and the Steelers said he would be a backup to Wayne Gandy when they drafted him with the 38th overall pick in April. But several weeks into training camp, after watching Smith perform at St. Vincent College, they made the switch they knew they probably would make all along -- putting Smith at right tackle and moving Farris to the left side.
Smith started the final four preseason games, and the Steelers are satisfied they have finally found their starting right tackle.
"I wouldn't say surprised," Smith said. "It's been my goal since the time I got here. It's something I knew I had to keep working at every day to achieve, and I have, so I have to keep working harder."
First lesson for rookie RT is stern test from Ravens 
