I wrote in my post draft breakdown of Pittsburgh Steelers fifth-round draft pick Terry Hawthorne that I thought it looked like he really got up high on his toes during his back pedal after watching tape of him and apparently he gets up too high for the liking of defensive back coach Carnell Lake.
Hawthorne, who took part in the Steelers rookie camp this past weekend, said in an interview with steelers.com that him backpedaling too high was one of the areas that he received correction in over the weekend when it came to his technique.
“They were correcting me on my technique,” said Hawthorne. “I was coming out here trying to get my technique down right. As I got out here and my technique got better, it started to get more comfortable.
“They basically want me to stay low. They were saying I was peddling too high so they want me to stay low.”
If memory serves me correctly, former Steelers cornerback Keenan Lewis also had a real high back pedal coming out of Oregon State, and while he didn\’t blossom as quickly as most hoped, he did finally turn the proverbial corner last season.
As far as Hawthorne goes, he still doesn\’t know why he slipped all the way down to the fifth round of the draft, but that he is thankful to get drafted by the Steelers nonetheless.
“I don’t know why I slipped, but I thank the Steelers for giving me the opportunity to come here and correct things,” said Hawthorne. “You want to go out there and show your talent to the best of your ability.”
Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posted in both of his rookie camp reports over the weekend that Hawthorne looked like he has it all and that he is an early candidate to make the Steelers 53-man roster come September. Kaboly also added that the Illinois product possessed smoothness at the right outside corner position.
Hawthorne also added in his interview that he plans on taking what he learned this past weekend back home with him to practice in order to be ready for the Steelers first OTA session that will get underway in a few more weeks.
The Steelers first preseason game is still a long way off, but it appears that the “Lake Effect” has already made an impact on the player that they call the “Black Cat”.
