Chris Boswell was one of the heroes of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2015 season. But he attributes his success to being welcomed with open arms from the likes of Shaun Suisham and Greg Warren.
“They both helped me. I can’t even put it into words,” Boswell told Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews. “With Shaun, playing wind, not playing too much wind, what to look for in certain stadiums. What to focus on, what not to focus on. He really took me under his wing and tried to prep me for the season as the season went on.”
Suisham, of course, was partly the driving force behind the team turning to Boswell, tearing his ACL in the first preseason game. After failed attempts with Garret Hartley and Josh Scobee, Boswell tried out, won it, and finished out the season with an impressive campaign.
He also credits the veteran Warren for his steady presence.
“Greg, just following his routine in practice every day. He does the same thing week-to-week. Just following that same routine keeps you in the same flow.”
Warren being the long snapper can’t be valued enough. The team was already dealing with its fourth kicker and a first-year holder in Jordan Berry. To have a constant at one of the main three components in the kicking game gave the team some semblance of stability. Warren signed a one-year deal to be the team’s long snapper for 2016.
Though Boswell and Suisham will be competing for the starting job next year, two men enter, one man wins, Boswell told Matthews Suisham is an “awesome, down to earth” person who never showed jealousy or ill-will during the season.
And though Boswell is cheaper and may seem to have the advantage, kicking is a fickle position and year-to-year success is unpredictable. It’ll be an open competition and maybe the most interesting battle heading into Latrobe this summer.
