In the moments after being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 20 overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft last Thursday, new offensive lineman Troy Fautanu stated that fellow Samoan and Pac-12 product Isaac Seumalo, now a left guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers, reached out to him to welcome him to the team.
It was rather fitting that a player of Seumalo’s stature reached out to Fautanu right away — other fellow Steelers reacted to the news on social media, welcoming the Washington product — considering Seumalo and Fautanu could be the pairing on the left side of the offensive line in 2024.
But during a radio appearance in Seattle Tuesday, Fautanu revealed that three other members of the Steelers reached out to him shortly after he was announced as the Steelers’ selection.
“Yeah, actually a bunch of players did. Russell Wilson actually called me. So, the same night of the draft, I actually took a redeye to Pittsburgh. Usually, they fly the guys out the day after, but because I was all the way in Las Vegas, I had to travel across the country to get there. And actually on my flight to Detroit, which is my connecting flight, Russell called me, FaceTimed me,” Fautanu said. “But I was like, I don’t think I can answer this because I swear you can’t answer phone calls on an airplane. That’s just from what I heard. So I ended up just texting him. But a whole bunch of guys reached out, like just to name names, like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt.”
Fautanu also stated again that former Steelers great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, a player Fautanu grew up idolizing, also reached out, though he missed the initial phone call after misplacing it following his selection by the Steelers.
Fautanu hearing from Heyward and Watt right away — two leaders of the team — is not a surprise at all. They are the epitome of what it means to be a Steeler on and off the field.
But the work that Russell Wilson has put in this offseason making sure he’s emerging as a leader and really helping welcome every single roster addition has been rather eye-opening.
He gets a bad rap for some things he’s done in the past from a personality standpoint (nothing even remotely bad), but he has really gotten off on the right foot with the Steelers, being front and center in welcoming new additions to the Steel City.
It’s been pretty cool to see, and hearing Fautanu recall that moment with his new quarterback is pretty funny. Good thing he didn’t answer the FaceTime in the air. That’s another positive when it comes to smarts for Fautanu.
