In the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers doubled down on addressing their defensive line with mammoth Iowa DL Yahya Black. While he may not have filled up the stat sheet with the Hawkeyes, he was an imposing presence on their line.
But Yahya Black is more than just one of the Steelers’ newest defensive linemen. Here are five things to know about him.
One Of The Best Defensive Linemen In His Area While Pulling Double Duty (And Playing Multiple Sports)
While at Marshall High School in Minnesota, Yahya Black wasn’t just a dominant defensive lineman, bullying opposing linemen around the football field. He also played offensive tackle and bullied opposing defensive linemen into the end zone.
“I always give him a hard time about [not] playing left tackle, because that’s where people get paid,” Black’s high school coach Terry Bahlmann said in an interview with NBC Sports. “But he just gives me that big smile and says he loves what he’s doing.”
And Black did not just dominate on both sides of the line of scrimmage in high school. He also participated in discus and shotput as a four-year letterman in track while also lettering in basketball for three years.
Has Trouble Finding Shoes That Fit
As I said in the intro, Yahya Black is a mammoth man. He checked in at nearly 6-6 and 336 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. So, it shouldn’t surprise many that Black’s footwear may be a little different than the average human.
“Size 17,” said Black when he was asked about his shoe size during an interview with the Daily Iowan. “Everything comes up online. The highest they go in stores is [size] 14.”
Black isn’t a sneaker head, and part of that may be the difficulty he has finding shoes that fit. So, his favorite pair of shoes is his Crocs.
Loves Adele, Not A Fan Of Rap
If you found Yahya Black before a football game with his headphones on and asked him what he was listening to, he’d tell you one artist every time.
“My favorite artist is Adele,” Black said during that interview with the Daily Iowan. “My favorite song would be Right as Rain. Pregame, I listen to Adele. It calms the nerves.”
What you won’t catch him listening to is rap. When asked what type of music is overrated, his response was, “Hot take, I’d say rap.”
So, if you hear that the Steelers’ locker room playlist suddenly has “Rolling In The Deep” or other Adele songs on it, you know who is responsible. And who’s going to tell a man that size what he can and can’t listen to?
Bags/Cornhole
Whether you refer to the sport/outdoor game as bags or cornhole, there is no doubt that people in backyards and at tailgates love trying to toss bean bags through a hole in a wooden board. And you can count Yahya Black among them.
“I don’t know if people call it ‘bags’ or ‘cornhole’, I’m personally a bags guy,” Black said per the Daily Iowan. “I’d say bags is my sport outside of football.”
A quick refresher if you aren’t familiar with bags/cornhole. Two people (or four if playing as a team) take turns throwing four bean bags at an inclined board with a hole drilled out. You get one point if the bag lands on the board, three if the bag goes through the hole. Points cancel each other out.
The best round you can get is getting all four bags through the hole. It’s an incredible feat. And Black has done it.
“Oh yeah,” Black said when asked if he’d pulled off the feat. “I’d say I’m pretty decent.”
So if you’re tailgating in Pittsburgh and Black shows up to play some bags, just know you probably will get your butt kicked.
His College Head Coach Doubted If He Liked Football
Hearing that the Steelers’ fifth-round pick had his college head coach doubting whether he liked football may be troubling. But rest assured, Black very much loves the sport. He just started out quiet. That, and getting beaten soundly by former Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum, who has since made two Pro Bowls as a member of the Ravens.
“He was kind of quiet and reserved and almost held back a little bit, and quite frankly, for three years I wasn’t sure if he liked it here,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said during a September 2024 press conference per Hawkfanatic.com. “But he’s really come around on that front. He’s emerged as not only a good player but as one of our team leaders, and it’s been fun to watch that.”
Minutes after Ferentz wrapped up that press conference, Black was asked about his coach’s comments.
“That is very fair, he’s not wrong,” Black said per X/Twitter video from Hawkfanatic.com’s Pat Harty. “I did get whupped every day for like two years by Lindy. So, I wouldn’t vocalize it. But football was very difficult. I wasn’t a very social person.”
Yahya black after being told Kirk Ferentz joked about not knowing if he was happy during his first three years at Iowa because of how quiet and reserved he was early on. pic.twitter.com/6fHGapytbs
— Pat Harty (@PatHarty) September 17, 2024
But Black grew both on the field as a player and as a person. And he became quite the vocal player, according to Ferentz.
