I’m sure everyone reading this has heard the song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones. It has a great message outlining how, in life, you may not always get the outcome you were looking for, but you usually end up getting the one you need.
Alex Highsmith apparently never listened.
Going into the 2020 NFL Draft, Highsmith hoped to see a 412 area code on his phone.
“You know, coming outta the draft process and coming into it and going through it, you know, I have my eye on Pittsburgh, like this is the place that I want to go,” Highsmith told Jason Romano on the Sports Spectrum Podcast.
The former University of Charlotte standout explained it was the Steelers’ winning culture and history of success that pointed him in the team’s direction come draft night.
The 26-year-old did need to wait until that direction was clear, however. Despite racking up 21 sacks in his career, 15 of which came in his final collegiate season, Highsmith was largely unknown due to the competition gap he faced in college. That, combined with a lack of a pre-draft process due to COVID, dropped the future star to the third round of the draft where the Steelers selected him with the 102nd overall pick.
Highsmith was the Steelers’ second pick of the draft, Pittsburgh choosing wide receiver Chase Claypool in the second round before him . The other selections from that draft went as follows:
— Fourth Round: RB Anthony McFarland Jr. (Maryland)
— Fourth Round: G Kevin Dotson, (Louisiana-Lafayette)
— Sixth Round: S Antoine Brooks Jr., (Maryland)
— Seventh Round: DT Carlos Davis, (Nebraska)
Not exactly the class of ‘74, but at least the team got one winner. For those wondering, the Steelers did not have a first rounder that year because of the trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Now a four-year veteran, Highsmith has established himself as one of the top pass rushers in the league and is one-half of arguably the best pass rush duo with T.J. Watt.
All these years later, Pittsburgh still has Highsmith’s eye.
“I love everything about the Steelers organization and, you know, there’s, there’s nowhere else that I wanna be,” Highsmith said.
Getting what he wanted, it’s also safe to say that Highsmith is exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers needed.
