Rookie minicamp isn’t until next weekend, but that isn’t stopping a couple of the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers from hanging around in the city in advance. The Steelers’ fourth- and sixth-round picks, Will Howard and Jack Sawyer, are both in attendance at today’s Pirates game at PNC Park against the San Diego Padres, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles on X.
Both of those players were pivotal to the Ohio State Buckeyes’ championship run in the College Football Playoffs last year, and they are bringing that pedigree to the Steelers’ roster.
Unfortunately they don’t have much to watch today with the Pirates trailing by four entering the final two innings, but it’s always fun to see the newest Steelers embracing the city. In turn, the city will embrace them.
Reflecting back to Ben Roethlisberger’s advice to Howard last Tuesday on his Footbahlin podcast, among many other things, he said he’d like to see Howard show up to the city early and start to ingratiate himself to the fans. He said that support from fans can lead to move confidence and ultimately confidence can help a quarterback perform better.
I have no clue if Howard saw Roethlisberger’s advice. I’d wager that he probably did. Regardless, he is following the playbook so far by spending extra time in Pittsburgh and making some public appearances.
Howard said during his media availability at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine that he wants to show teams that he can be the face of the franchise for whoever drafts him. As a sixth-round pick, the odds are stacked against him, but the pressure is low and talent eventually rises to the top in the meritocracy of the NFL.
Minicamp next week should give plenty of opportunities to get to know more about Howard, and I would imagine he will speak to the media once or twice throughout that process.
Let’s just hope the Buccos don’t give the two neset Steelers the wrong impression of what Pittsburgh is all about.
