When the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls from 1974-1980, no player epitomized the Steelers' offense more than Mike Webster. I played with Mike the first two years of my career, and he taught me more about how to win in the NFL than anyone else.

During my second season in 1988, we were losing 28-7 in the fourth quarter to the Cardinals in Phoenix. At the time, I was the third-down back, but they put me and the rest of the second string into the game to play all the downs for the rest of the game. The only player who would not leave the field was Mike Webster. The plastic had been stripped off his facemask. His hands were taped and bleeding. His jersey was ripped. He had deep, huge gashes in the front of his helmet. He had grass stains everywhere and dirt in his face.

And as we were standing on the field during a TV timeout, he said, "Men, one thing you can never do in this league is quit. You have to finish every play and finish every game. We're going to take this ball and go down the field."

We didn't win the game, but his words left a permanent mark in my mind about what it takes to be a champion, to win every Sunday and to win the Super Bowl.

Mike was also my roommate my rookie year. At first, the idea of rooming with him was a little intimidating. I thought the Steelers may have paired Mike with me to groom me. I needed a lesson or two coming from a small school like Idaho State. But after the first few hours, he became just a teammate. I tried to absorb everything I could from him as a professional, as a future Hall of Fame center and as a player I had watched and idolized.

During our first night as roommates, at around 10 p.m., he asked if I wanted any dessert or if I wanted to watch a movie. After I said no to both questions, he got out of bed, locked the door, put the chain on and bolted it. I said, "What did you do that for?" I thought, "He's Mike Webster; he can't be afraid of anything."

He said, "The last time I was here, I was rooming with Lynn Swann. And some hookers (who had been in the room) took the keys from the previous people, and they came in and ransacked the room and stole our wallets and everything." I never forgot that. Now, when I'm on the road, I always lock the door when I go to bed.

Because he was 13 years older than me, it was almost like a father and son rooming together. Once we were going to play a preseason game against the Giants. During training camp, we played preseason games late. We didn't get much sleep, so I was looking forward to sleeping in. But Mike got up at 5 a.m., opened the curtains in our room, looked out on the Meadowlands, and said, "What a cesspool! What do you want for breakfast?" I was like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm rooming with my dad."

On the field, he played in more games than any Steeler and was the center on four Super Bowl championship teams. But what I remember most is how he played on every down. In the huddle, he had authority. He didn't say much. But when he spoke, it was about something that needed to be addressed. And he could address a situation in three words. When the huddle broke, he sprinted to the line of scrimmage, getting there before anyone else. He set the tempo on every play with how he blocked and how he fought.

When Mike entered the league, he weighed about 190-200 pounds. He spent every day pushing sleds around hills and pulling tires up mountains, doing all the things it took to be great. Mike knew what it took to succeed and made himself into a Hall of Fame center.

The NFL had no greater iron man than Mike Webster.

Merril Hoge, who serves as an analyst on Edge NFL Matchup, NFL 2Night, ESPN Radio and ESPN.com, played with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1987-1993.