Pittsburgh Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III has had an up and down career in his two years in the NFL. Harvin was drafted by the Steelers in 2021 in the seventh round and had a rocky first year. Although Harvin did not really impress his rookie season, he was going through a lot as he lost his father and grandmother in a short timespan in the middle of the season which weighed heavy on him.
Harvin had a chance to bounce back last season and showed some improvement, but no punt from him was better than his final one against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, Harvin only had two punts, but his best punt came with under a minute left in the game with Pittsburgh up three and he pinned Atlanta on their own two yard line.
Today, Harvin joined The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke podcast, and said that his favorite moment in the NFL was that game.
“Honestly my favorite and best moment so far has been that Atlanta game last year,” Harvin said. “Backstory on that too, that was the first stadium I actually played in. That was my first game at Georgia Tech, I was a freshman, we were playing in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game against Tennessee at the time, and that was my first game. In that same stadium, I just told myself I’m back home.
“That game was so fun because, I only had two reps punting, I only had one open field and one pooch. But those were two critical plays, and that last one, that pooch punt, was on the 40 yard line. I’m like, look I gotta put this inside [the 20 yard line], we only got a little bit of time left in this game. I’m like, where else would I want to be right now either than the city that made me the punter that I am, and in the situation with the team that also had dibs on me that overlooked me? And I’m in the same city.”
Harvin used the the motivation of being back home to propel him to new heights. Later on in the podcast, Harvin said sometimes he gets the butterflies before a game, but being back in Atlanta took all of that away and he felt no nerves entering the game. His final punt of the game helped secure the Steelers victory and kept their playoff hopes alive as only a few plays later Minkah Fitzpatrick made a game-sealing interception.
Entering the 2023 season, Harvin is in a position battle with former New York Jets punter Braden Mann who the Steelers claimed off waivers earlier this offseason. Harvin’s spot is far from guaranteed as it is obvious the team isn’t thrilled with how he has punted in his two years in the league.
While punter is not a glamours position, the battle between Harvin and Mann will be interesting to watch this offseason. For Harvin, he is the incumbent and has chemistry with kicker Chris Boswell as a holder and long snapper Christian Kuntz which should give him the leg up in the competition but he will have to perform well punting. If he can put in performances like his game against Atlanta consistently he should have no issues retaining his job and being the Steelers punter for a third year in a row.
