Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 35 - Number 1 i Steelers Digest

Once upon a time, NFL teams that made moves up in the first round of a draft generally did so to pick a quarterback. Once upon a time, an NFL Draft was defined by the number of quarterbacks drafted in the first round and how high those selections were made. Luckily for the Steelers, and especially their fans who were laser-focused on the team adding a quarterback to replace the retired Ben Roethlisberger, the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft was all about the wide receivers. When the first round concluded with the Minnesota Vikings selecting Georgia safety Lewis Cine, six of the first 32 picks were wide receivers; on two separate occasions teams traded up in the round to get into position to pick a wide receiver; and…

When the emotions hit, they hit hard for Steelers first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett. Emotions that were bottled up inside him. Emotions he doesn’t show often privately, let alone publicly. But when that phone call came, when Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin was on the other end informing Pickett that he was the newest Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, it was like a floodgate was released and the emotions came out. “The emotion was definitely not normal for me,” admitted Pickett. “I had a feeling it would be emotional. When I got the call and I heard Coach Tomlin’s voice, I kind of lost it. Everyone was so emotional. Everything I worked toward my entire life came in that one phone call. “It was incredibly special. It was unbelievably special to have that…

It’s a dream come true and honestly, just pinch me because it’s just so unreal. I was excited because this is the place I wanted to come.- DeMarvin Lean 2021 SEASON Started 12 games… finished the season tied for fifth in the SEC with 8.5 sacks and tied for ninth with 12.5 tackles for loss, leading the Aggies in both categories… Registered a careerhigh 1.5 sacks and added three tackles against New Mexico… Set career highs in TFL (2.5) and sacks (2.0) against Mississippi State… Finished with seven tackles in the win over No. 1 Alabama… Added six tackles, including 2.0 for loss and a sack at Missouri… Finished with six tackles when the Aggies held No. 12 Auburn to just three points… Compiled seven tackles, a sack and forced…

2021 SEASON (OLE MISS) Played in 13 games (nine starts)… registered 92 tackles (42 solo), 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and three QB hits… ranked second on Ole Miss in tackles and third in TFLs… recorded a career-best 14 tackles, five TFLs and 2 sacks at Tennessee (10/16)… registered 12 tackles vs. LSU (10/23). 2020 SEASON (OLE MISS) Sat out: NCAA transfer rules. 2019 SEASON (SOUTHEAST MISSOURI) Saw action in 12 games at running back. 2018 SEASON (SOUTHEAST MISSOURI) Saw action in all 13 games at running back. 2017 SEASON (PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE) Played in all 11 games and made two starts as a freshman at Presbyterian College. WHAT HE SAID “I had one offer coming out of high school, which was to Presbyterian, and before our first season was…

MIKE TOMLIN: I’d like to open by acknowledging this guy to my left here, his contributions to this organization for 22 plus years has been exceptional and needs no endorsement from me. I think it quite simply speaks for itself. I’ve had an opportunity to come alongside this gentleman for 15 of those years, and I just want to say it has been an absolute pleasure, not only in terms of results but the process itself. It’s a pleasure to come alongside him and evaluate talent and make the critical decisions. There’s a lot of challenges in our business, but the spirit in which you attack them is everything, and it’s just been a pleasure to work with him. His mark and impact on us will continue to be felt,…

✶ WE ARE INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT IN EACH ISSUE. We will now incorporate unique editorial pieces from experts like radio sideline reporter Craig Wolfley, Steelers Radio Network host Mike Prisuta, as well as Matt Williamson and Dale Lolley of Steelers Nation Radio. These editorial voices join 3 favorites like Bob Labriola, Teresa Varley and Jim Wexell.✶ NEW FEEL, LOOK AND DESIGN. Your eight issues per year will feature a card stock cover and an updated design look.✶ 3 EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND PHOTOGRAPHY. Each Steelers Digest will include news and images that will be found here first. Many photos and articles will only be seen in the Digest! Subscribe now for yourself or your favorite Steeler fan! 3 WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE: 1. Online with a credit card at…

There are rivalries in sports that fire up each team’s respective fan bases. And then there are rivalries that are ingrained in their fan bases from birth. Steelers rookie receiver George Pickens has seen plenty of the latter. A member of Georgia’s national championship team, Pickens has lived through the Bulldogs’ rivalries with Alabama and Georgia Tech. He was a member of a team that lost five games in his three seasons in Athens, Ga., repaying that one loss in 2021 against Alabama in the College Football National Championship. That’s just one reason why Pickens, a second-round pick of the Steelers, doesn’t believe his transition to playing in the AFC North will be all that daunting. “It’s not really a huge transition depending on (coming from) the SEC or what…

In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft the Steelers got their next franchise quarterback, in the second they got their big, tall, Plaxico Burress-type wide receiver, and in the fourth round they got their lightning-quick Tyreek Hilltype slot receiver. In the next draft they’ll be picking 32nd, right? Well, spring IS the time for hopes and dreams, and that’s how those three draft picks looked in shorts at the Steelers’ rookie minicamp on May 13-15. Of course, for every Tyreek Hill there’s a Dri Archer, and this year’s fourth-round draft pick, Calvin Austin III, weighs less than either of those two speed demons. But since it IS spring, and we’re still dreaming, let’s keep this comparison focused on Austin and Hill, the lightning-in-a-bottle player who was named to…

2021 SEASON (SOUTH DAKOTA STATE) Played in 15 games (15 starts)… completed 62.3-percent (238-of-382) for 3,164 yards and 25 TDs… guided the Jackrabbits to the FCS national semifinals. 2020 SEASON (SAMFORD, 2021 SPRING) Played in seven games (one start)… registered QB efficiency rating of 98.0. 2019 SEASON (SAMFORD) Saw action in all 12 games, including eight starts at quarterback… completed 169-of-272 for 2,064 yards and 18 TDs… rushed 127 times for 493 yards and eight TDs… was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for September. 2018 SEASON (USF) Appeared in six games, including two starts. WHAT HE SAID “It’s pretty surreal to me. I am really thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsburgh organization. I am super grateful. Every single day I’m in there,…

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced a new addition to Heinz Field that will further honor former players, coaches, and other contributors with the construction of the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum, the team announced today. The museum is scheduled to open during the 2022 regular season. The museum will tell the detailed history of the Pittsburgh Steelers and feature the franchise’s best players, coaches, and front office personnel in the Hall of Honor. “We are extremely excited about the opening of the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum this Fall,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II. “This will provide our fans the opportunity to not only learn more about the Hall of Honor inductees, but also about the history of the team with many great videos, pictures and displays that highlight great…

Albert Breer writes a weekly NFL column for Sports Illustrated’s MMQB. In a post-draft column Breer dedicated a portion of it to Kevin Colbert on the occasion of his final draft as the Steelers’ GM. Wrote Breer, “I shot texts out to peers across the NFL to ask for their own tributes, mostly because I thought he’d enjoy reading them. Happy retirement, Kevin.” Colts GM Chris Ballard: “Kevin is one of the real special men in this league. His contributions to the Steelers’ organization and to the game of football have been truly special. I have such great respect for him, not only as one of the best general managers in NFL history but also as a man. Anytime I needed advice or guidance, he was there to help, and…

From the notebook of a sportswriter who can’t remember the last time he was this excited to watch a draft class play in preseason games: • That from a guy who believes the Steelers needed linemen on both sides of the ball more than anything else in the draft. • That’s not logical. I know. You can list names and tell me about the depth on both lines, but I still think this team needs young locker-room leaders, guys who’ll develop and police the area for the next 10-15 years. • I just realized that judging from my excitement over this group of offensive skill players, I’m everything a real football fan despises about this fantasy generation. Oh, well. • Even the one lineman they did draft, thirdrounder DeMarvin Leal,…

It has been recognized as the greatest play in NFL history, and the game that contained it remains an iconic event in the history of Pittsburgh sports. Fifty years later, the Golden Anniversary celebration of the Immaculate Reception represents the crown jewel of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 regular season schedule. It was on Dec. 23, 1972, that Franco Harris caught Terry Bradshaw’s deflected pass out of the air and turned it into the 40-yard touchdown that provided the deciding points in the Steelers 13-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders for the first playoff win in franchise history. On Dec. 24, 2022, the Steelers will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the occasion with an 8:15 p.m. rematch with the Las Vegas Raiders, to be televised nationally by NFL Network. “The game…

You could stroll right into his office, unannounced, at any time during business hours, which for him always began way before 9 a.m. and lasted long after 5 p.m., and what greeted you was a testament to a love for his job and the incredible skills that made him one of the best ever to do it. He would be sitting at his desk with a phone glued to one ear while his fingers banged the keys of a manual Royal typewriter, and while simultaneously carrying on that telephone conversation and writing a press release, he was holding court with a constant in-and-out of people, all of whom wanted or needed something. Joe Gordon never lost his train of thought with the person on the other end of the phone…