It’s not often that a Hall of Fame-caliber receiver with more than 1,000 receptions shows up at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp for practice. Yet, that was the case Wednesday as former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. was in attendance at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Smith, who has toured the NFL training camp landscape the last two summers, showed. up in Latrobe Wednesday and donned Steelers gear catching passes from quarterbacks in warmups, running the chains during the scrimmage portions, and more. Smith, known for being a feisty, tough wide receiver with an elite-level mouth for trash talking, stars in a series called “NFL’s Most Interesting Jobs,” so that’s why he was decked out in Steelers gear like one of the team’s equipment managers.
Sixth-year Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson seized upon the opportunity to pick the brain of one of the better wide receivers in NFL history during downtime in practice.
“I watched him growing up a lot. I wish I got a chance to be on the field with him at the same time, just to see how he moves around and does his thing and sees the defense,” Johnson said of Smith, according to original reporting from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “I was just picking his brain.”
In his career, Smith has seen — and done — it all. Over 16 years in the NFL, 13 with the Carolina Panthers and three with the Baltimore Ravens, Smith hauled in 1,031 passes for 14,731 yards and 81 touchdowns, so picking his brain on everything and anything wide receiver related is a huge plus for Johnson.
Johnson is no slouch in his own right, but the resume Smith’s resume speaks for itself. Coming out of Utah in 2001, Smith was considered undersized and didn’t really have a true dynamic trait. Carolina saw enough though to grab him in the third round, and he rewarded them with two All-Pro seasons and four Pro Bowl seasons, also earning the AP Comebacker Player of the Year award in 2005.
What set Smith apart was his toughness and overall edge with which he played. He might have been on the smaller side at 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, but he was as tough as nails and used his size to his advantage. Nobody was a better trash talker during his heyday, and nobody ever questioned Smith’s determination and desire.
While Johnson is already an elite separator at the position and an elite route runner, he can still add things to his game, especially from a release standpoint against press coverage, which seems to be what he was getting tips from Smith on based on the tweet above from College2Pro.com’s Bo Marchionte.
It never hurts to try and pick the brain of such an accomplished player like Smith’s when given the opportunity, so kudos to Johnson for taking advantage of the situation and trying to glean all he can from the multi-time All-Pro and Hall of Fame-caliber receiver.
