The Pittsburgh Steelers have targeted players from the University of Georgia in the NFL Draft over the last few years, and the team has three contributors who attended Georgia in OT Broderick Jones, TE Darnell Washington and WR George Pickens. During an interview at the East-West Shrine Bowl, Georgia DT Nazir Stackhouse said he reaches out to the three of them “all the time” and says he has a strong relationship with every player who’s gone to the league from the Georgia program.
“All the time. I feel like anybody that has came and go since 2020 I’ve had a strong relationship with. I’ve always reached out to any of those guys and just had a conversation, because being at Georgia is such a big struggle. I wouldn’t even say struggle, but such a big challenge to go out of there and come out unscathed and have a great career in the NFL. So I feel like those guys, it reminds them of that burden.”
Stackhouse is an interior defensive lineman and Jones is a tackle, so the two of them didn’t go up against each other often in practice at Georgia. But the two of them did play against each other in high school, and Stackhouse said sometimes he’d play off the edge and match up against Jones.
“Me and Broderick, every now and then we have some 1-on-1s, but I’ve never really gone against Broderick,” Stackhouse said. “Broderick did play at Lithonia High School, and I played at Columbia. We played Broderick. There were some times that coach would have me on the end and I would play against Broderick.”
Stackhouse also talked about going up against Washington in practice, and said that there was one time where he had to remind Washington that he’s not an end, and that Washington is going to feel it when he goes up against him.
“I even had some challenges with Darnell as well. Because we were heavy on the three-down friends, so whenever I was in a 4i, Darnell would be that tight end lined up on the line next to whoever that tackle is. So if it’s a run and it’s coming our way, Darnell would give me a little bump or a little chip, I would feel that every now and then.”
“There’s been a time where I kind of had Darnell, Darnell’s 6’8, long arms, like seven foot wingspan. I had one arm out, this and that, and after the play, I told him, like yeah bro I ain’t no DE. So you know what I mean, you know I’m big and all, but I don’t play DE, so you gonna feel a little strength from me.”
Having that built-in connection with a trio of current Steelers and two guys he would see lined up against him could help Stackhouse’s transition to the league. He talked about his battle with narcolepsy and how having teammates who know what he’s going through and can help him has been important for him at Georgia, and having three players who he’s worked with before would provide a good support system right off the bat if Stackhouse lands in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is likely going to target a defensive lineman early in the draft, and Stackhouse currently is projected to go in the middle rounds. But Art Rooney II preached the need to get younger along the defensive line, and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Steelers doubled up at the position. Stackhouse didn’t weigh in at the Shrine Bowl but he was listed at 6-3 and 320 pounds by Georgia, and that size profile is what the Steelers will look for in an interior defensive lineman.
Stackhouse is just as impressive off the field as he is on it, and if he does wind up with the Steelers, he seems like a player that could mesh really well in a locker room that includes a few of his former teammates.
