Pittsburgh Steelers running back LaRod Stephens-Howling had a strong showing last week in the preseason opener against the New York Giants and head coach Mike Tomlin certainly took notice of his debut in the black and gold.
“He has quickness and great vision,” Tomlin said during a recent interview with steelers.com. “He’s a good one-cut runner, and so you can say he does display some of those talents. But he also appears to be very comfortable in the passing game, which is exciting.”
The University of Pittsburgh product carried the ball seven times for 40 yards during the first two offensive possessions for the Steelers in the game and looked very comfortable behind the young offensive line.
While Stephens-Howling wasn\’t thrown to out of the backfield against the Giants, perhaps that is something to look forward to Monday night against the Washington Redskins. During his four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Stephens-Howling was targeted 87 times in the passing game and he caught 56 of those passes for 534 yards and three touchdowns. One of those three scores even came against the Steelers in the 2011 game against the Cardinals as the running back took a short dump-off pass 73 yards for a touchdown.
Tomlin stated during his Saturday press conference that Stephens-Howling will also return kickoffs Monday night in Washington, so that will be another thing to look forward to in addition to his play at running back.
“LaRod Stephens-Howling has earned his keep in this league for some time in that area, and we will give him an opportunity,” Tomlin told the website.
