Coming out of college after time at both Colgate and Notre Dame, Max Hurleman brought quite a bit of experience and versatility to Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp a few weeks ago.
He played running back at Colgate and then returned punts and played cornerback at Notre Dame in his one season with the Fighting Irish. So, he had the experience wearing multiple different hats on a football field.
Ultimately, that helped him land a job with the Steelers, who signed the Pennsylvania native after rookie minicamp, making him one of the few players who parlayed the tryout into a job.
Appearing on The Ross Tucker Football Podcast Thursday morning, Hurleman stated that he played multiple positions during the tryout with the Steelers, showcasing that versatility that impressed GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin enough to land him a job.
Talking to Tucker, Hurleman revealed how he ended up working at multiple positions.
“I showed up on the first day and Coach Tomlin comes up to me and he says, ‘We’re gonna start you out at running back. Is that all right with you?’ And obviously I say yes, but I hinted at the fact that, ‘Hey, I can do other things as well,'” Hurleman said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “So as the weekend progresses with this minicamp stuff, it’s the summer’s coming around, it’s getting hot, so guys kind of go down here and there. I ended up playing mostly running back at the rookie minicamp, but I took snaps at receiver as well. And I even ended up doing a little defensive back indie [drill], doing some backpedal stuff.”
Hurleman started his collegiate career at Colgate as a running back and rushed for 814 yards and a touchdown on 194 carries across four seasons. He made the switch to wide receiver for the 2023 season and hauled in 28 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns, all while handling punt- and kick-return duties.
After the 2023 season, Hurleman transferred to Notre Dame, where he then switched to defensive back while still holding down a role as a punt returner and playing on special teams. With Notre Dame he recorded 13 tackles and had one fumble recovery.
Along with his work defensively and on special teams in coverage, Hurleman had 23 punt returns for 138 yards.
His work at Notre Dame put him on the map for leagues at the next level, including the NFL. During Notre Dame’s Pro Day, Hurleman checked in at 5107, 200 pounds and ran a 4.68 40-yard dash with a 36-inch vertical, 9’11” broad and 6.96 three-cone, while also recording 13 reps on the bench press.
That was enough to garner attention from the Steelers, who had a large contingent at the Notre Dame Pro Day like usual. Though the Steelers didn’t sign Hurleman as an undrafted free agent, they invited him for a tryout during rookie minicamp, and to Hurleman’s credit, he took advantage of the opportunity.
“I obviously crushed a lot of the special team stuff, which is a big reason why I’m there,” he said. “Special teams is important. But even once I signed, I said, ‘Hey, what position are you foreseeing me as?’ And the response is, ‘We don’t know, but we like you.’ So not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I guess I can wear a ton of different hats.”
How the tryout at three positions came about was just due to attrition. Guys were going down in the heat throughout practices, and Hurleman was there to step up and grab the opportunity.
He explained that receiver came about naturally as he worked in individuals at receiver early, and then when the teams went into 7-on-7 drills, guys got hurt, and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni wanted to see him at receiver.
“I didn’t know the plays mind you, but the receiver coach basically stood by my hip, broke out of the huddle with me. He’s like, ‘Come on, line up here. You got this route, this route.’ And the entire day that’s what we did,” Hurleman said. “And it was chaotic, but it was kind of awesome.”
After that experience getting work at receiver, Hurleman then taught himself receiver that night. But the next day when he came back in, he said that Tomlin told him he’d have two jerseys in his locker and that he needed to bring both to the field, because Tomlin wanted to see him backpedal at cornerback.
“And so, the third day I did DB individual drills, just some box drills and reaction, backpedaling, break coming outta your breaks, and I think I did well with that. And then the entire weekend I was catching punts and doing special team stuff. But it was really cool to do a lot of different things,” Hurleman said. “And on that last day doing defense defensive back drills, I could feel a lot of eyes on me, and I felt like that was the make-or-break moment.
“I guess I did a good job. So, it all worked out, but it was kind of a chaotic weekend. I did a little bit of everything.”
The Steelers announced Hurleman as a running back, much like he was at Colgate, but based on him getting work at receiver, some individual drills at defensive back and plenty of opportunities on special teams, there’s a path for Hurleman to try and carve out.
Pittsburgh liked him enough to give him a shot this offseason. Now he has to continue to take the opportunity in front of him and run with it, all while leaning into his versatility. The more you can do, the better, especially with rosters capped at 53 entering the season and practice squads at 16.
That type of versatility could help Hurleman stick around longer than just getting an offseason contract with the Steelers.
Check out the full interview with Hurleman on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast below.
