The Pittsburgh Steelers signed G Max Scharping from the Washington Commanders’ practice squad on Tuesday afternoon. They needed reinforcements on the offensive line after G James Daniels tore his Achilles’ tendon during the loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. He was the former second-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2019 NFL Draft. But who is he?
Familiar With The AFC North
This isn’t the first time Scharping will suit up for an AFC North team. He previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 and 2023. The Bengals claimed him off waivers from the Texans just prior to the 2022 season. He did not start a game for the Bengals until the playoffs that season. G Alex Cappa went down in the Bengals’ final regular season game, which thrust Scharping into the starting lineup. He went on to start in all three of the Bengals’ postseason games. That included wins over the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills before an AFC Championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
First-Team All-MAC Final Three Years Of College
Before the Texans drafted Scharping as a guard, he was a standout offensive tackle for the University of Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference. He started every game his entire career with the Huskies, 53 straight starts, after redshirting as a true freshman in 2014. He also played every offensive snap for the Huskies in his senior season. After wrapping up his Huskies career, he became the first offensive lineman from Northern Illinois to be drafted since the Dallas Cowboys drafted OT Doug Free in 2007.
Scored A Two-Point Conversion As A Senior For The Huskies
The Huskies were playing the Ohio Bobcats, and the Huskies scored a touchdown to take a 22-21 lead with under five minutes remaining. An extra point would have been, well, pointless. So, the Huskies opted for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game. This was no normal two-point conversion attempt, either. No, the Huskies opted for a screen with Scharping as the receiver. It worked flawlessly.
The Steelers’ newest tackle-eligible candidate? And who doesn’t love a big-man touchdown? The Huskies were obviously loving it.
Living In The Trenches In High School
Scharping is no stranger to the trenches in football. He played on both sides of the line in high school. He had 21 total tackles in his last two seasons for Green Bay Southwest High School. He recovered a fumble defensively as a senior, and as a junior, he knocked down two passes. He did all of that while playing on the offensive line and starting every single game but one in his final three seasons of high school football.
Football And Hunting: A Wisconsin Story
Scharping is from Green Bay, Wisconsin. There were two mainstays for him as a kid: A dream of playing in the NFL and hunting.
“I grew up in a football culture,” said Scharping in a pre-draft interview with WFRV Local 5. “I mean, Green Bay, that’s really what it’s known for, the Packers. That’s how we grow up, that’s how we live our life, so it’s always been a dream. Since I was a little kid, I told people that I was going to be an NFL player when I grew up.”
But it wasn’t just football on Scharping’s mind growing up in Green Bay. There was hunting, too. Fortunately for him, the opening day of deer season lined up perfectly with the Texans’ bye week during his rookie season.
“I have been hunting for forever, really,” said Scharping in an interview for Deep Slant on the Texans’ YouTube channel. “My family is a big, big hunting group. I have an eight-pointer mounted in my room even. So I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
