The Pittsburgh Steelers report to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe Wednesday. Here is one of our final series to bridge the gap between the end of offseason practices and the start of training camp. This is the fourth of five parts.
Nothing stirs the imagination at Steelers training camp like an undrafted rookie emerging. Before there was Jaylen Warren, there was Isaac Redman.
If you knew before camp started in 2009 where Bowie State is (outside of Baltimore) and that Redman had upheld Paulsboro High School’s rich wrestling tradition (he won a state title at 215 pounds for the South Jersey school) your nose is still growing.
Or you are Alex Kozora.
Redman entered camp as the afterthought of afterthoughts. A small-school running back trying to stand out among a group that included Willie Parker — he of the longest run in Super Bowl history — and 2008 first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall? Yeah, good luck, rookie, and don’t forget carrying the veterans’ shoulder pads off the field after practice.
Then goal-line drill happened. And Redman turned into damn Jerome Bettis. A vaunted defense could not keep him out of the end zone.
Which meant absolutely nothing to Mike Tomlin.
And that is what makes camp great.
I was among the reporters who crowded around Redman, eager to get his take on what had just happened. Mike Tomlin walked by, stopping at a spot nearby to give his post-practice “report.” As we grudgingly walked over for five minutes of basically nothing, Tomlin said, without a glance at the story of the day, “Sorry to interrupt you, Isaac.”
The subtext could not have been clearer: You ain’t done squat — and don’t forget to carry those shoulder pads off the field.
What also makes camp great is that Redman built on that one shining moment, coming out of nowhere to make practice squad. He made the 53-man roster the following year. No, he did not become another Willie Parker, but he had his moments during four-plus seasons with the Steelers.
The most notable one came in 2010 when Redman’s 9-yard catch-and-run touchdown in Baltimore provided the difference in a crucial 13-10 win.
It would not suck, with the Steelers in need of a No. 3 running back, for a Redman-like story to materialize at Saint Vincent. Even better for the Steelers would be what also happened in 2009. Two other undrafted rookies made the 53-man roster or the practice squad. They were Ramon Foster and Steve McLendon.
