CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jacob Bell and the rest of his St. Louis Rams teammates like to refer to Rodger Saffold Jr. as his "little brother." There are obvious reasons for this.

The two offensive linemen have a hulking resemblance. Bell stands 6-feet-4, and weighs 300 pounds; Saffold is 6-5, 323 pounds. They play next to each other each game, with Bell at left guard, and Saffold lining up beside him at left tackle.

Both are from the Cleveland area, two kids who used their high-school coaching to learn foundational techniques that carried them to the NFL. Though they are separated in age by seven years, the two are facsimiles of the same player: hard-working, hard-playing big guys who learned to love the game and play football in Ohio.

They are not alone. Nine offensive linemen from the Cleveland area appear on NFL rosters across the country, and they say it's no coincidence.

"We grow them big and strong in the Midwest," San Francisco 49ers lineman Alex Boone joked.

More than that, they had strong coaching through their childhood years, providing a solid base for one of the most technical positions in the game. Opportunities for offensive linemen to learn and grow in Northeast Ohio abound, with various camps and veteran coaches who instruct the behemoths, and that's part of the reason so many have grown up to be professional football players.

"I use some of the stuff we learned in high school even now," said Bell, who grew up in Cleveland Heights and attended St. Ignatius before attending Miami (Ohio). "Taking on a bull rush is something I learned how to do in high school. I use the same technique now."

Bell played at St. Ignatius one year behind another future NFL player, LeCharles Bentley. The retired center opened the LeCharles Bentley O-Line Academy in Avon specifically for athletes at his position. Attendees learn not only specifics of run- and pass-protection, angles and hand placement, but also supplement old-school training with new ideas. Bentley's Web site boasts that training sessions include "pilates in order to build explosive core strength," and "martial arts to facilitate dominant hand movements."

Bentley says his is the only brick-and-mortar offensive linemen academy in the country, and part of the reason he wanted to open it near his hometown is because of the talent the area produces. Anyone from high school to NFL players can attend and benefit from the Midwestern linemen approach.

"I'll be honest with you, part of the reason I was able to go as far as I did was because of the coaching I received," Bentley said. "We have a lot of dedicated high school coaches, some really, truly committed coaches who helped me."

Saffold also credits the instruction he received and various football camps he attended when he was a little-noticed lineman entering Bedford High School. He attended five camps per year, he said, including one at Ohio State and one specifically for big men.

Then there's the matter of Ohio pride. Saffold, who played at Indiana University, idolized Ohio State and Sandusky product Orlando Pace as a child. He wanted to be just like the locally grown offensive lineman, just as successful. Bentley adds Korey Stringer to the list of notable Ohio products who played on the offensive line at a high level.

"It's definitely a lot of pride that goes with it," Saffold said. "There's a lot of pressure that I accept and that I want. I don't want it to just be a cakewalk. You always want to go out there and prove yourself time and time again."

So when Saffold and Bell first met at the beginning of last season, Saffold's rookie year, they bonded instantly. They had not only the hometown bond, but the offensive linemen pride that comes from hailing from Northeast Ohio.

"It's kind of like our little Cleveland," Saffold said of his friendship with Bell.

Everyone calls them brothers, and that's no coincidence.

"Big, Midwestern men. Big, Midwestern-grown," Bell said. "The Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn't just happen to be in Canton for no reason. It's there because football originated in Ohio and there's a lot of pride in learning the fundamentals and playing the game right."