INDIANAPOLIS -- Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said that in most years, a team drafting No. 22 is not likely to get a big-time offensive tackle prospect, but this year is different.

April's draft is considered to be loaded at the tackle position -- particularly at the top, with as many as five tackles considered potential first-round picks -- and the Steelers could have one fall into their lap.

That player could very well be Pitt's Jeff Otah, who is ranked among the top five tackles and is considered to be among the top 25 overall prospects, as well.

Otah, who played only two seasons at Pitt after transferring from Valley Forge Military Academy's Junior College, has watched his stock rise dramatically the past year and the fact that he hasn't played much football -- and thus has a lot of room to improve -- is probably as big of a reason as his size (6 feet 6, 322 pounds) and athleticism.

"Jeff had an interesting career because he came out of junior college and we heard about him a little bit as a junior and paid attention to what he was doing," said Colbert, who is at the NFL Scouting Combine this weekend.

"But, then he continued to get better and better during his senior year. And he is a very interesting prospect because he probably hasn't played his best football yet, because he is not a really experienced guy as far as playing football, so there is probably a lot of upside left in him.

"But, this is the best group of tackles I've seen in 24 years collectively, and I thought it was a good group even before the juniors were added to it. Those guys enhanced what we really think is a strong group."

Otah, from New Castle, Del., is one of the least experienced players at the combine because he didn't become an offensive lineman until he was a senior at William Penn High School. Before that, he played two seasons of junior varsity football as a defensive tackle, but he was a star basketball player.

But even though he played only one season of football -- and then only played three games because of a broken hand -- his size and his athleticism were enough to get him recruited by Valley Forge.

He quickly blossomed into one of the best tackle prospects in the country and by his second season he had attracted scholarship offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Maryland and West Virginia. But he chose Pitt because he believed Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt's NFL background would be an important factor in his development and also because the Panthers had an immediate need at tackle.

After struggling early in his first season at Pitt, Otah was named first-team All-Big East as a senior.

"The thing about Jeff is he is big, he is strong but he also understands how to play the game," Wannstedt said. "I just wish I had him for two more years so we could work with him even more, but coaches will view his potential upside as major asset and he'll be impressive at the combine."

Otah is ranked behind Michigan's Jake Long, Boise State's Ryan Clady and Southern California's Sam Baker, but his stock could rise this weekend with a good workout because he has the size and athletic ability to become a dominant tackle.

Otah, however, disputes the idea that he is inexperienced to the point where he wouldn't be ready to play as soon as the upcoming season.

"I'm not raw, I know a lot of people have been saying that, but I think I am a good player," he said. "I played at the highest level of college football in an NFL system for the last two years so I am not just straight raw. And to be a good defender in basketball you have to have good feet and I always played great defense, and people have always told me that I have good footwork."

NOTE -- Arizona Cardinals coach and former Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt was asked if his team was going to pursue Steelers Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca when he becomes a free agent later this week. "There are all indications he is going to become a free agent, and if that happens, I'd be lying if I wouldn't tell you we had interest in him," Whisenhunt said.