PITTSBURGH, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Jeff Hartings, a two-time Pro Bowl center for the Pittsburgh Steelers for five seasons, has told teammates he will retire, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said.
The report cited Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks and backup center Chukky Okobi as sources for Hartings retirement plans.
Hartings' tenure is part of a rich Steelers tradition at center. Ray Mansfield started from 1964 into the mid-1970s when he began sharing the position with Mike Webster. Webster, an member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, started through 1988 and made nine Pro Bowls.
Dermontti Dawson took over and made seven Pro Bowls. Hartings replaced Dawson and Okobi is likely to take over for Hartings, the newspaper said.
Starks told the Post-Gazette that Hartings told his teammates he plans to enter an entirely new kind of profession in Utah, where he lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Rebecca, and their six children.
"He's going to start a church," Starks said. "He's helping to build one."
