When you think of player development, you normally think of a head coach getting the best out of someone. Or a change in coordinator that tailors a scheme to a player’s strengths. Even a position coach with the right voice and knowledge can cause a player to grow.
For Diontae Johnson, all three of those positions have played a factor. So has another: Steelers assistant equipment coach Lou Balde. Johnson credits him for helping improve his hands before and after each practice. And it’s had a domino effect on the rest of the team.
Appearing on the most recent episode of the Steel Here podcast with co-hosts Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry, Johnson discussed the key yet unheralded role Balde plays.
“One of the equipment guys, Lou, that’s my guy,” Johnson told Jerry and Adams. “He takes his time out of his day every day. We do it every day before practice and after practice. We’re gonna get our catches in no matter what. And in between practice, that’s how serious we are.”
Balde is the mysterious man we’ve referenced before in our training camp diaries. We first took notice of him during the 2021 training camp, held at Heinz Field due to the pandemic. In 2020, Johnson struggled with a terrible case of drops, officially putting 13 of them on the ground, per Pro Football Reference. At camp the following year, he and Balde were the first two on the field almost every day, catching somewhere around 50 passes before and after practice, working on different angles and levels.
Sure, Johnson still drops a couple, they all do, but his hands aren’t the issue they were in 2020. Not even close. As Johnson notes, his teammates have taken notice. And followed his lead.
“Since I started throwing with him, all the defensive guys are doing the same thing I’m doing after practice,” he said. “They’re all coming over, they’re getting their catches. Najee [Harris], Minkah [Fitzpatrick], just anybody that’s coming who want work, want to get better. They see the work and they see progress from it.”
One player who spent plenty of time with Balde this camp was rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. One of the first two people on the field, Porter played toss with Balde before making his way over to the JUGS machine to get additional reps before practice began. It paid off and Porter showed good hands this summer, picking off two passes in practice and another in his preseason debut against the Buffalo Bills.
Nowhere in Balde’s job description does it say he has to help the players. He’s just taken it upon himself to help out however he can, something that everyone on the field has taken notice of.
“Coach [Mike Tomlin] always says maximize your role, no matter what it is, because any role can become important. He pointed out Lou,” Miles Boykin told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko last year.
And as Tomlin says, the more you can do, the more value you create. Balde’s created a ton of value for the team. And a key role in the team’s on-field success.
Check out the full episode of the podcast below.
