Another day in the books at Saint Vincent College. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one step closer to strapping on the pads with just one more pad-less practice remaining before things are live Tuesday. But first, let’s talk about what happened for the first weekend practice of camp Saturday afternoon.
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Camp Notes (Day Three)
– Injury roundup. QB Russell Wilson (calf) missed his third-straight practice. He was slightly more active than Friday’s session, going through some jogging during stretch line. That’s something he didn’t do during yesterday’s session. He never put on a helmet and did little after that, though he handed the ball off 2-3 times at the start of individual/skeleton drills. Justin Fields remained the team’s starting quarterback for the day.
TE Rodney Williams (shoulder) left after falling hard while diving against Cam Sutton during 7v7. He was initially writing in pain, kicking his legs while he was being checked out by trainers. After being down for about 30 seconds to the point where the drill was about to be moved to a different part of the field, Williams popped up and jogged off to the sideline. From there, he was checked on by trainers and looked okay, though he eventually walked off the field alongside a trainer. Mike Tomlin says it was an AC joint injury and that he could miss a few days.
LG Isaac Seumalo had the day off. LG Spencer Anderson saw most of the first-team reps. OT Broderick Jones tweaked his right ankle in seven shots and missed a rep or two but was back out there the next team period. He’s fine.
– Players on PUP/NFI remain there. I spotted RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson doing some very light work early in practice on the middle field, walking laterally along the sideline. Later during a special teams period, he did some more spirited jogging. Still could be a little bit on his return.
– Today’s practice had a “normal” feel. The same start time at 1:55 PM/EST, and the weekend allowed for easily the biggest crowd of the year. Really fun atmosphere with the Steelers’ drum line greeting fans as they walked in. DL Aaron Smith took photos with fans at one booth while Jason Gildon was on hand as one of the four Steelers selected into this year’s Hall of Honor. Mike Tomlin spoke to fans, thanking them for coming out and making Latrobe the “best sight in the NFL.”
– Earlier than usual, referees were on the field today.
– Rookies were among the first ones down the stairs. Center Zach Frazier came through the doors at 1:18 PM with LB Payton Wilson right behind. Ditto with a vet in Nate Herbig, who lounged on a bench for a few minutes before getting some pre-practice work. Frazier snapped to QB John Rhys Plumlee, working on under center and shotgun snaps.
– Wilson has either been the first or among the first players on the field, telling reporters he wants to keep his pre-practice routine. Today, I decided to follow Wilson’s routine to see what he did before the first horn sounded.
Wilson dropped to a knee for a quick prayer before making his way to the far third field, where LBs Coach Aaron Curry helped set up some equipment. Wilson put on his gloves and tied his cleats. He started with some simple exercises, first walking on his heels forwards and backwards and then his toes. Then he walked/strafed laterally. He then walked and reached down to touch his toes. Wilson had a brief chat with Curry, who then took him through a couple of bag drills, focusing on his first steps. After, Wilson hit the blocking sled, first just working on his punch and then graduating to punch/shed to beat the “block.”
After, Curry threw Wilson a handful of footballs as Wilson pumped his arms to mimic as if he was dropping into coverage. They played toss a little bit later while Wilson also briefly worked on dropping his hips and changing directions, like a curl/flat defender getting depth. By this point, more teammates had taken the field, and Wilson spent a moment talking with UDFA Jacoby Windmon. By that point, the first parts of practice were about to begin.
– Cam Sutton spent quite some time working with UDFA corner Beanie Bishop Jr., getting first-team slot work for the third day. Lots of coaching points and some walkthroughs as Sutton played receiver.
Don’t often see it but DL DeMarvin Leal was kind enough to sign a few autographs on the field after coming down the stairs. Behind the end zone of the far field along the fence line, a group of kids came down to get their gear signed.
– Starting offensive linemen Dan Moore Jr., Broderick Jones, and James Daniels came down the stairs together.
– The second- and third-team o-lines were the same in warmups but with Seumalo out, here’s the first-team group: Dan Moore Jr.-Spencer Anderson-Nate Herbig-James Daniels-Broderick Jones. Anderson still ran second team RG, giving him double reps today.
– Punt return line: WRs Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, and Quez Watkins along with FS Minkah Fitzpatrick and CB Cam Sutton. QB John Rhys Plumlee split work between the kick- and punt-return lines. He’s struggling to field the ball. Not a surprise for someone who was mostly a college quarterback, but he had another muff today followed by a bobble and let a kick on a hop roll through his legs. It’s been a process and right now, he’s going through growing pains.
– Jaylen Warren and Roman Wilson got kick-return work.
– One minor but notable difference this camp. On Day 1, the stretch line had the entire roster on the same field, the one closest to the bleachers. On Day 2, the offense and defense split into two groups in adjacent end zones, offense on the near field, defense on the middle field. Today, they were partitioned even more, spread across all three fields and broken down into position-group clusters.
The d-line/linebackers were one group, o-line and tight ends another, quarterback/receiver/running back a third, and linebackers/safeties the fourth.
– Saw a Yancey Thigpen block jersey today. That was pretty unique. Also, it looked like OG Joey Fisher’s family was at practice today. Saw a pair of Fisher No. 79 jerseys. He played college ball at Shepherd in West Virginia, making it a reasonable trip.
– In individual/skeleton work, Steelers quarterbacks worked on shovel options and roll outs.
– During these drills, the o-line worked on man/combo blocks on the sleds.
– You can see some of the friendships start to build. Even little things like the quarterbacks having unique handshakes with different players. QB John Rhys Plumlee has one for TE Pat Freiermuth and TE Darnell Washington. QB Kyle Allen has a great one with TE MyCole Pruitt, finishing with them “chugging” a beer.
– Some special teams notes throughout the practice. Actual punting for the first time today. There’s only one punter, veteran Cameron Johnston signed from the Houston Texans in free agency, but I still charted and timed his punts.
The first came out of his own end zone. It went 50 yards with 4.18 seconds of hangtime. The next two were a pin-deep/coffin corner punt from the offense’s own 47. It went 37 yards with 4.13 seconds of hangtime. From the defense’s 45-yard line the next punt, it had a 3.93 second hangtime but rolled out at the 3-yard line.
The rest were all open-air punts. Here are their distances and hangtimes: 4.38 seconds (47 yards), 5.00 seconds (59 yards), 4.69 seconds (58 yards), 4.85 seconds (49 yards), 4.44 seconds (49 yards), 4.68 seconds (45 yards), 4.29 seconds (36 yards, shanked to the right and out of bounds), 4.82 seconds (61 yards), 5.08 seconds (59 yards).
Overall, a good showing and Johnston gets great backspin on his punts. Weren’t really gunners in this setting — they were doing drills on a different part of the field — but CB Thomas Graham Jr. and WR Scotty Miller received one rep here before joining the other gunners.
Miles Killebrew worked first-team upback with TEs Rodney Williams (pre-injury) and MyCole Pruitt as the wings, though SS DeShon Elliott rotated in with Pruitt.
– Field-goal work later in the day. Chris Boswell and Matthew Wright the kickers. Here’s a chart of their makes and misses, according to the refs under the uprights doing the signaling.
Chris Boswell: 33 yards (Made), 47 yards (Made), 40 yards (Made), 38 yards (Made), 42 yards (Miss), 44 yards (Miss), 46 yards (Make)
Matthew Wright: 33 yards (Made), 36 yards (Miss), 36 yards (Made), 36 yards (Made), 42 yards (Made), 44 yards (Made), 46 yards (Miss), 42 yards (Made)
There was one kick of Wright’s I missed charting. But from what I have, Boswell went 5-of-7 with misses from 42 and 44 yards out. Wright went 7-of-8 with a miss from 36 yards.
Punter Cameron Johnston was the holder. Christian Kuntz was the long snapper except for one rep where rookie DL Logan Lee came in and snapped. I shouldn’t but didn’t note the quality of the snap but that’s a nugget to file away. Lee could be a backup there (Cole Holcomb also has snapping experience, though is on Active/PUP). Lee long snapped at Orion High School.
– Some 7 on 7 notes.
– Roman Wilson had a nice pivot route against Grayland Arnold and held on as Arnold tried to punch it out.
– Kyle Allen layered a good throw over the underneath zone to hit WR Marquez Callaway for a solid pickup behind them.
– And John Rhys Plumlee found Connor Heyward on a well-placed crosser/over route working right to left later in the session. Heyward had a slight bobble but pulled it in as he fell to the ground.
First Team Period (Seven Shots)
1. Ball on the defense’s 2-yard line. Spencer Anderson in at LG. Against 11 personnel, Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr were the outside corners with rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. in the slot. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith the outside linebackers with Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen the inside linebackers. Larry Ogunjobi and Cam Heyward the defensive tackle pairing.
Offensively, WRs George Pickens and Calvin Austin III are on the outside, Van Jefferson in the slot. Justin Fields drops back and has Austin over the middle in the back of the end zone. Pass a little high, Austin jumps, but he can’t finish the play. It’s incomplete underneath the crossbar.
2. 12 personnel. Pat Freiermuth split out widest to the left with Darnell Washington slot right. Fields’ throw is batted down at the line. Unsure by who, maybe Cam Heyward, but it’s incomplete. Fields had three batted down yesterday and one today.
3. 11 personnel with George Pickens and Scotty Miller on the outside with Calvin Austin in the slot. Steelers blitz and bring pressure. Fields scrambles around, finally rolls to his left and wants to run but Alex Highsmith contains him. Fields throws to Austin but Donte Jackson breaks it up, incomplete.
4. Bishop at slot corner. Fields under center out of 12 personnel. Fields boots to his left. Nothing there initially but Austin gets in his line of sight. Fields sorta shovels/pushes the ball to him and Austin makes a catch in traffic for the offense’s first score.
5. Kyle Allen and the second-teamers enter. 12 personnel. Attempted shovel pass to RB Jonathan Ward but DeMarvin Leal makes contact and breaks it up. Probably more physical than what this environment intended and there was someone on the field call for a “do-over” though it never came.
6. 12 personnel. Allen wants TE/FB Connor Heyward at the front right pylon. Nearly caught but CB Darius Rush drives well on the ball and breaks it up before Heyward can secure it to the ground. Refs rule it incomplete.
7. Last rep. 11 personnel with Roman Wilson and Jaray Jenkins on the outside at receiver with Quez Watkins in the slot. Allen under pressure and flushed to his left. Nothing there and he throws it out of the back of the end zone.
Defense dominates, winning 6-1.
Second Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 27. 11 personnel. George Pickens and Van Jefferson on the outside with Roman Wilson in the slot, seeing some first-team work. Justin Fields looks his way and throws up a slot fade right sideline. Wilson turns back and leaps for the ball, making the grab against CB Beanie Bishop Jr for a 29-yard pickup. Big play from the rook.
2. Fields hits George Pickens short, LB Patrick Queen quickly greeting him with a thud. Gain of 5.
3. 11 personnel. Ogunjobi and Heyward the defensive tackles, Watt and Highsmith the outside linebackers, Porter, Jackson, and Bishop in the slot as the cornerback trio. Fitzpatrick and Elliott the safety pairing up high with Damontae Kazee working as the dime defender during this third down period (every play is a “third down”).
Pocket starts to collapse on Fields. He ducks and then rolls to his right. Looks for WR Dez Fitzpatrick with a bit of a cross-body throw. It’s behind and clips off Fitzpatrick’s hands for the incompletion.
4. Fields incomplete to Pickens on the right side.
5. Pistol, 12 personnel. Fields hits Marquez Callaway for a 4-yard gain along the left side.
6. Kyle Allen comes in at QB. 11 personnel. Nick Herbig in at LDE, hand down. Roman Wilson goes in motion pre-snap. Allen finds Wilson right side for a solid gain of 13, CB Kalon Barnes unable to punch it out.
7. 11 personnel. Ryan Watts blitzes off the offense’s right/defense’s left. Allen complete to WR Quez Watkins for a gain of 16 yards.
8. 11 personnel. Kalon Barnes and Darius Rush the outside corners with Josiah Scott in the slot. Dime package with Payton Wilson the lone off-ball linebacker and S Nate Meadors the sixth defensive back. Allen wants Watkins on a curl left side, but Rush drives and breaks up the pass.
9. 12 personnel. Third team o-line comes in of Hamilton-Beach-McCollum-Fisher-Hardy. Mark Robinson and Payton Wilson the inside linebacker pairing. Robinson blitzes up the middle, causing Justin Fields (a lot more mixing and matching with QBs this year) to quickly swing the ball in the right flat to La’Mical Perine. Gets tagged for a gain of only 2.
10. 11 personnel. Anthony Averett and Thomas Graham Jr. on the outside with Grayland Arnold working out of the slot. Fields complete along the left sideline to WR George Pickens for a gain of 22 yards. Believe Graham had coverage but not 100 percent sure. Nice throw and catch.
11. 11 personnel. Outside linebackers are Julius Welschof and Kyron Johnson. Cam Sutton down low as the dime defender. John Rhys Plumlee is in and feels the heat from Welschof off the offense’s right side, flushing Plumlee to the left. Miles Killebrew closes downhill to prevent Plumlee from running. He tries to throw it out of bounds, and Sutton nearly picks it along the sideline.
12. 11 personnel. RB Daijun Edwards motions from out wide to the backfield. Plumlee finds WR Jaray Jenkins over the middle for a solid gain of about 20 yards. LT Devery Hamilton sealed Kyron Johnson up the edge to keep the pocket clean.
Third Team Period (11 on 11)
1. LOS at the offense’s 31. Justin Fields under center. 12 personnel. Keeanu Benton in at nose tackle. Stretch run right handoff to Najee Harris but he loses the ball right after the exchange. He recovers it but the play is a bust.
2. 12 personnel. Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr. the corner duo. Minkah Fitzpatrick down closer to the box than DeShon Elliott. Keeanu Benton and T.J. Watt pressure Fields, who throws a too-hard bullet pass a little high and through RB Jaylen Warren in the right flat. Incomplete.
3. Bishop in the slot, flanked by Porter and Jackson. Benton and Heyward the nickel pairing, not Ogunjobi here. Fields looks for Jefferson over the middle, but Porter uses his length to get his hand over the top, down through Jefferson, and knocks it away.
4. 11 personnel. Pistol. Roman Wilson in the slot. Broderick Jones called for a false start. Defense goes crazy, a coach is jumping in the air, refs throw the flag. The punishment? He’s out of the rep and has to do a lap around the field.
Once the offense moves back 5 yards and resets, Jaylen Warren takes the handoff right side. OLB Jeremiah Moon gives backside pursuit for a gain of 3.
5. 11 personnel. Nick Herbig and Jeremiah Moon the outside linebackers. George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, and Scotty Miller the three receivers with Payton Wilson and Mark Robinson the ILBs. RB Jonathan Ward gets the carry and bounces around up the middle. DeMarvin Leal again getting into the backfield.
6. 13 personnel. Base defense d-line of Leal-Adams-Loudermilk. Moon and Barnes the corners. Kyle Allen in at QB. Allen hits TE Rodney Williams in stride on a crosser working right to left for 28 yards. A nice throw by Allen.
7. 21 personnel. Jack Colletto at fullback. Ward bounces the run on this carry wide but Kyron Johnson did a nice job springing it out. Gain of 2.
8. 11 personnel. Second-team line of Cook-McCormick-Frazier-Anderson-Fautanu. RB Aaron Shampklin gets the carry, cutting back to the right. DL Logan Lee pushes him down from behind. Shamklin gets back up and CB Grayland Arnold chases him downfield.
9. Third team o-line in. Hamilton-Beach-McCollum-Fisher-Hardy. CB Josiah Scott over slot, Thomas Graham Jr. and Anthony Averett on the outside. Fields under center. Kyron Johnson beats RT Anderson Hardy around the edge. Fields scrambles left and throws toward WR Van Jefferson but the pass is out of reach and incomplete, Averett covering. Throw wasn’t really there, and it was pretty much of a throwaway.
10. D-line of DeMarvin Leal-Breiden Fehoko-Logan Lee. Jack Colletto in at FB. 21 personnel. Good hole for RB La’Mical Perine, I’ll give him 6 but run stops/distances are more difficult to chart in pad-less sessions.
11. 13 personnel. Daijun Edwards in at RB. Jacoby Windmon and Tyler Murray at inside linebacker. Willington Previlon at RDE with Jonathan Marshall at nose tackle along the defensive front. Edwards on the carry right side for 5.
12. 12 personnel. Ryan Watts and Miles Killebrew at safety. Cory Trice Jr. and Anthony Averett at corner with Josiah Scott in the slot. John Rhys Plumlee checks in. Play-action but the RB screen to Edwards is figured out, in part by DL Jacob Slade, who circles back. Throw is over everyone’s head and out of bounds.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 28. Dan Moore Jr.-Spencer Anderson-Nate Herbig-James Daniels-Broderick Jones the front five. Larry Ogunjobi-Montravius Adams-Isaiahh Loudermilk the base d-line grouping. T.J. Watt hand down as the LDE with Alex Highsmith standing up opposite.
Justin Fields hits RB Jaylen Warren right side but Patrick Queen is cat-quick to come downhill and tag him. Only a gain of 2.
2. 11 personnel. Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen the ILB duo. Beanie Bishop Jr. in the slot. Najee Harris carry right side for 2. Nice run defense from Loudermilk to provide a wall of resistance.
3. Fields under center, offense in 11 personnel. WR Dez Fitzpatrick goes in motion left to right. Big lane opens up for RB Jaylen Warren to show off his burst, Calvin Austin III throwing a block for him. Gain of 15-ish as Bishop tries to chase him down from behind.
4. 21 personnel. Fields waits and waits and waits but there’s nothing there for him. Finally tucks and runs right side. Broderick Jones and Spencer Anderson out in front as a convoy, though this run was not by design. Really tight and plaster coverage from the secondary, and I think a lot of guys stayed in to block here.
5. Darius Rush and Kalon Barnes on the outside with Grayland Arnold in the slot. Kyle Allen under center. La’Mical Perine run right side. Not much doing but I don’t have a specific yardage written down. Lots of early movement; surprised the refs didn’t throw a flag here. Messy play.
6. Pistol from 11 personnel. Marquez Callaway the motion man. Allen hits Roman Wilson on a shallow cross, Grayland Arnold diving to knock it away but he can’t. I’ll give it a gain of roughly 20 yards. Animated fist pump from Allen at the end of the play.
7. 12 personnel. Roman Wilson in motion. Jonathan Ward gets carry left side. Nice little juke move to the inside on CB Kalon Barnes, though it’s not like Barnes can tackle him. Long run to finish but I’ll put it down as a gain of 5.
8. 21 personnel, Jack Colletto at FB. Lead run behind him for Ward. Kyron Johnson tags him. We’ll call it a run of 3 yards.
9. Kyron Johnson and David Perales the OLBs. Cory Trice Jr. and Anthony Averett the respective left and right corners with Josiah Scott in the slot. Power option for Fields, who ends up keeping the ball and running right side. Fields got around the edge, but Johnson widened his path.
Not sure how but Roman Wilson and Darnell Washington collided, costing Fields two blockers. Both were slow to get up, Washington more so than Wilson, but both were okay.
10. 11 personnel, pistol. La’Mical Perine ping-ponged run up the middle for 3 or 4. Kyron Johnson beat a block here. “Good job 5-3” someone yelled out post-play.
11. 21 personnel. Kyle Allen play-action. Nothing there. Allen tucks and runs before pulling up like he’s about to slide though he stays on his feet.
12. 12 personnel, MyCole Pruitt in the backfield aligned as a fullback. Muffed under center exchange between Ryan McCollum and QB John Rhys Plumlee. Not sure who is to blame but the play is a dud, even if Plumlee recovered to avoid a turnover. By the time he did, the defense was swarming and Plumlee just shielded himself.
– After practice, George Pickens presented season tickets to a fan, part of the Make-A-Wish program, according to the Steelers’ YouTube channel, while signing autographs for several kids. Joey Porter Jr. came over after to greet the fan who had won.
Photo I snapped of the moment.
Camp Recap (TL;DR Version)
– Justin Fields has had four passes batted down across the past two practices. Perhaps it’s in part an emphasis of the rush to get their hands up knowing they can’t actually touch/sack the QB but it’s still a high number.
– As much focus as there is on Russell Wilson’s calf and Justin Fields’ play, reasonably so, Kyle Allen has had a good three days. Smart, layers the ball well with touch, and has made good decisions.
– Big day for Roman Wilson, who started flashing yesterday and really came alive today. Nice to see, even if there’s a long way to go. He’s getting open and making combat catches with YAC ability.
– Overall, giving advantage to the defense today. Even without an interception in team , it has been the better unit across the first three practices. Really done a nice job plastering in scramble drills with these mobile quarterbacks.
– Not a ton to evaluate along the o-line. Gotta wait until the pads come on.
– OLB Kyron Johnson has had a good couple of days and gotten a little buzz. Solid against the run and flashing as a rusher. His lack of size and bulk are a concern but he’s fighting hard to stay in the mix.
– LB Patrick Queen’s closing speed has been on full display. He gets to the ball in a hurry and has been a headache for offenses trying to throw in the flats. Nice start for him.
– I thought there’d be more first-team slot corner rotation. So far, not the case. Beanie Bishop Jr. has been getting most of the work there. And he’s held his own.
– CB Darius Rush with a nice day, two break ups in team period, according to my notes.
– Quiet start for CB Cory Trice Jr., who might be losing/splitting some reps with Thomas Graham Jr. At least today as guys like Grayland Arnold and Josiah Scott got more slot work. And TE Darnell Washington has yet to be targeted in the team period. Not much involvement so far for him.
– We’ll see if Rodney Williams’ shoulder injury creates some tight end-type work for Colletto, who has been the team’s fullback so far.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
Pat Freiermuth about to haul in a catch under the watch of TEs Coach Alfredo Roberts and OC Arthur Smith.
Steelers Short Kings Series
A series on the shortest and smallest players in team history with large stories to tell.
HB Harp Vaughan: 5-7, 150 pounds (1933-1934)
Vaughan was on the Pittsburgh Steelers (then known as the Pittsburgh Pirates) roster for the first two years of their existence. Over that span, he threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one more.
After football, he served in the 82nd Airborne during World War II and served four terms to the Pa. House of Representatives. He was later appointed to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, serving there throughout the 60s. He died in Florida in 1978.
Norm MacDonald Quote/Joke Of The Day
“Why do dogs always race to the door when the doorbell rings? It’s almost never for them.”
