As a professional athlete, it is important to know your strengths and weaknesses. Your weaknesses may not even be that glaring, but it’s still important to improve them in a game where everyone else is improving around you and working to be better than you.
After signing a lucrative contract extension this offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith isn’t taking his breakout 2022 season for granted and has stated numerous times that they are plenty of aspects he still needs to work on to be a more consistent player. Speaking Monday in a press conference that aired on the team’s YouTube channel, Highsmith mentioned that there are two specific aspects of his game that he is working on improving ahead of the 2023 season.
“Maybe just like my get off and just finishing my rushes,” Highsmith said to the media. “So, I think one thing that helps with the get off…Coach [Mike] Tomlin was always over there. He always comes over there first thing…coming over there to spike the competition with the get off drill. I feel like I’ve got gotten better at that over this offseason. Also, just like I said, finishing my rushes. There’d be times I would beat guys and I wouldn’t bend in the corner well enough, and the quarterback would step up. So just continue to work on the end of the rush.”
Highsmith saw his production explode from his second to his third season as a pass rusher, going from six sacks as a sophomore to 14.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in 2023. Still, there were plenty of instances on tape where Highsmith displayed an inconsistent get off and wasn’t able to finish the rush on the quarterback, doing a great job of providing pressure, but needing to better finish the play.
Highsmith has taken this commitment to working on his weaknesses seriously this offseason, stating in the presser that he’s been working out with DL Cameron Heyward this summer to get into great physical shape while also pick his brain about football and ways he can improve. Learning from guys like Heyward and T.J. Watt can only be a benefit for Highsmith as he looks to make a greater leap forward heading into 2023, improving on his stellar performance from a year ago to become one of the more respected pass rushers in football.
Watt, Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick may be seen as Pittsburgh’s cornerstones on defense, but Highsmith isn’t too far behind. Should he improve his get off on the snap as well as more consistently finishing at the quarterback, he should be able to cement his name amongst that group as an impact player for Pittsburgh for years to come.
