After being spotted last week at both the Georgia and Clemson Pro Days, Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is in attendance at Alabama’s Pro Day. He was also there for last year’s event, continuing a trend of one or both of the Steelers’ head coach and GM being on site to scout Alabama’s crop of draftable players.
The news was reported by an unlikely source in Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, who said on The Joe Starkey Show on 93.7 The Fan that he asked Tomlin to speak to his team in Pittsburgh ahead of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament but that Tomlin informed him he was at Alabama’s Pro Day.
Along with Tomlin, GM Omar Khan was spotted at the event on social media, via a video posted by Stephen M. Smith on X. Via the broadcast on SEC Network, college scout Zach Crockett and VP of player personnel Dan Rooney Jr. are also at Alabama.
All 32 teams should have some representation there, including other head coaches and general managers, as Alabama has been one of the powerhouse teams in college football for the better part of two decades, including a College Football Playoffs appearance this past season.
Alabama has several players projected to be selected over the first two days of the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, and several of those come at positions of need for the team. CB Terrion Arnold, CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, OT JC Latham, and WR Jermaine Burton are the biggest names to watch when it comes to the Steelers.
At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, medicals discovered a Jones fracture in McKinstry’s foot. He did not participate in Indianapolis, but the reports indicated he would be working out at his pro day before getting the issue fixed. He is expected to be ready for the start of the NFL season. Latham is another player who was at the Combine but only participated in position drills and otherwise did not test in any of the agility drills due to a high-ankle sprain suffered on his final play with Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Here is McKinstry’s 40-yard dash, per Tom Pelissero on X.
Either one of those two players could realistically end up a target for the Steelers in the first round of the draft. Given DC Teryl Austin’s presence at the event, one of the two corners appear to be firmly on the Steelers’ radar. Ike Taylor is also on-site.
It is a busy day on the pro day circuit with USC, Ohio State, Texas, and others all staging their respective workouts for NFL prospects. With that said, it will be interesting to track who all appears at each school as most teams will be spread pretty thin.
