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What They Said - Draft Picks
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Catch up on what the Steelers 2010 Draft Class had to say after they were selected and read what Steelers personnel had to say about them.
Maurkice Pouncey – Center/Guard
What He Said:
“I’m ready for my challenge. I know that I got a lot of work to do, and first I got to get in here and learn the playbook and get accepted by my teammates.”
What They Said About Him:
Coach Mike Tomlin on his alertness in regards to the rush and blitzes:
“Liked that element of his game, but not only what’s up front but here’s a guy who communicated at the line of scrimmage, and even in regards to safety rotations and so forth, this is a guy that’s capable of drawing up all 22 and understanding rotations and stuff that effects protections. He’s really a smart guy and mature beyond his years in that way.”
Jason Worilds – Outside Linebacker
What He Said:
“It’s a dream come true. The coaches came, saw me, we went over some things with the defense, and watching some of the guys that played there before me, or now currently, I think I fit perfectly. Just with the types of rushes they have, those guys on the edge. I see myself in their mold. Lamar Woodley, James Harrison, physical, explosive types of edge rushers. I’m excited for the opportunity to come in and learn as much as I can from those guys.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“The initial draw to him was what we saw on film. He wasn’t probably as productive his senior year as he was his junior year. He got a lot of attention from different offenses he played against. A lot of people doubled him to try and keep him away from the quarterback. We liked his mobility. We went down and spent some time with him during the offseason. We got a chance to meet with him, talk with him and check out his football knowledge, and do a little bit of research on him down there. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about him. We were impressed with the kid when we met with him. We were really impressed with him when we worked him and out and did some linebacker drills. He probably had one of the best workouts this year of anyone we’ve seen.”
Emmanuel Sanders – Wide Receiver
What He Said:
“My playing style is I am a very elusive player. Off the ball, I’m very quick. Some receivers fit in a category of more quick than fast, but I feel like I bring both of those to the table because my straight line speed and I feel like I’m very quick too.”
What They Said About Him:
Wide Receivers Coach Scottie Montgomery:
“I think he is an unbelievable person to start with and a great addition to the room. I had the opportunity to sit with him a couple of times now, and mentally he’s as strong as a lot of the guys that I had a chance to be around during this draft process. I really think he’s going to be a young man that’s going to be quick to the tuck. He’s a guy that can finish the football and I’m really, really extremely happy and excited about the opportunity to work with him.”
Thaddeus Gibson – Outside Linebacker
What He Said:
“I’ve always liked the Steelers. The defensive coordinator is from Ohio State I met him a couple years ago, he’s just a great guy and I’m happy to be playing for him. This is a blessing, and they’re coached by a great linebacker that played professional football for awhile and there are obviously great linebackers that play there now. I’m just excited for the opportunity and ready to go.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“Initially when I started watching him, when we grade or evaluate we usually try to watch a game early, a game in the middle of the season, and a game late. And a thing that stood out to me more than anything was his improvement over the year. He really improved as a player, in terms of rushing and getting to the ball carrier and getting to the quarterback, as the year went along. I was kind of disappointed when I first started watching him and then the more and more I watched him, the more and more he grew on me a little bit, because he played better than he played at the beginning of the year. So he got better, so we look for him to improve more than he did this year, when he gets here.”
Chris Scott – Offensive Tackle
What He Said:
“I think I’m more versatile as an offensive lineman being that I can play all five positions along the offensive line. To have a lot of experience playing a lot of those positions, I think it’s a good thing to and that’s pretty much what describes me as a player overall.”
What They Said About Him:
Offensive line coach Sean Kugler:
“He's a physical player. We feel he's got some position flexibility; we feel he's the type that could play guard for us as well, which is real important. And he played at a high level of competition each week in the SEC and did a nice job versus those guys. He's got great size, about 320 and we feel he can commit and compete.”
Crezdon Butler – Cornerback
What He Said:
“I’m physical and I can cover. I’ll come down and make the hit and I’ll support the run, and I’ll cover the best receiver. They put me on the best receiver at Clemson a lot, and I want to continue that.”
What They Said About Him:
Defensive Back Coach Ray Horton:
“He’s big, he’s strong and he’s fast. That’s what we need right now, we need guys that can come in and pick off the ball. With the addition of Bryant (McFadden)and Crezdon we feel our special teams will also get better.”
Stevenson Sylvester – Inside Linebacker
What He Said:
“I’m just going to work wherever they put me. I’m excited to be in the NFL. It’s a dream come true. I’m just going to work. It doesn’t matter if they put me on special teams, I’m just happy to be there.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“He’s a fast, fast-playing, aggressive, play-hard kid, has a real good feel for blitzing. He enjoys playing the game. He played on a defense at Utah – Utah does a great job with their kids, and they hustle to the ball, run to the ball. This kid, it’s what he does. He does a good job of timing blitzes from the outside and does a good job of running to the football and finding the ball carrier. He, like a lot of inside linebackers like this, struggles with big guys. But what we do in our system for our guys I think will help him. He’s a good fit for us.”
Jonathan Dwyer – Running Back
What He Said:
“I’m glad the Steelers believe in me and I’m definitely not going to let them down. I’m going to go in and compete and do whatever I can to make plays and get us a Super Bowl ring.”
What They Said About Him:
Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson:
“With the ball in his hand, he has good plant strength. He’s aggressive when he has the ball in his hands. And he’s got some savvy to him in terms of, he’s had a lot of opportunities to run the football in college. He’s a workhorse-type of running back, and he should excel at the next level as a runner. He’s got some other things he’s going to need to work on, but he does have some natural running ability. Again, when you are 230 pounds, that is a plus and that can’t be taught.”
Antonio Brown – Wide Receiver
What He Said in regards to what he likes more: playing receiver or returning punts and kickoffs more?
“I love both of them. I hope I can get on the field with the team. You know, I'm all for it. Returning is my specialty I love doing that. But, I'm also a receiver with catching the ball and getting it in the end zone.”
What They Said About Him:
Wide Receivers Coach Scottie Montgomery:
“He is an exceptional player with the football in his hands. He’s one of those natural guys at fielding punts and kickoff returns. There’s a lot of things you can do from a coaching standpoint, but if they can’t get to the spot and catch it, then you can’t really help a lot of them. He is one of those guys that does have the natural ability to catch it. He has great short-space quickness. He is one of the last guys in a long line of guys to come out that can make a move going forward, being able to put his foot in the ground in a forward motion, meaning not coming to stop or coming to balance in order to make someone miss.”
Doug Worthington – Defensive End
What He Said:
“The biggest thing for me is they have a lot of great players in there right now. They have great defensive ends. Coming in there knowing some of the scheme will be a great opportunity for me.”
What They Said About Him:
Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert:
“Like Thaddeus he’s played in a scheme similar to ours. He has the body to play our five technique, and he’s just a nice size guy to have at that position.”
[url="http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/What-They-Said---Draft-Picks/59f809b6-e675-4181-a60c-34a715c86b0b"]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/ ... a715c86b0b[/url]
Catch up on what the Steelers 2010 Draft Class had to say after they were selected and read what Steelers personnel had to say about them.
Maurkice Pouncey – Center/Guard
What He Said:
“I’m ready for my challenge. I know that I got a lot of work to do, and first I got to get in here and learn the playbook and get accepted by my teammates.”
What They Said About Him:
Coach Mike Tomlin on his alertness in regards to the rush and blitzes:
“Liked that element of his game, but not only what’s up front but here’s a guy who communicated at the line of scrimmage, and even in regards to safety rotations and so forth, this is a guy that’s capable of drawing up all 22 and understanding rotations and stuff that effects protections. He’s really a smart guy and mature beyond his years in that way.”
Jason Worilds – Outside Linebacker
What He Said:
“It’s a dream come true. The coaches came, saw me, we went over some things with the defense, and watching some of the guys that played there before me, or now currently, I think I fit perfectly. Just with the types of rushes they have, those guys on the edge. I see myself in their mold. Lamar Woodley, James Harrison, physical, explosive types of edge rushers. I’m excited for the opportunity to come in and learn as much as I can from those guys.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“The initial draw to him was what we saw on film. He wasn’t probably as productive his senior year as he was his junior year. He got a lot of attention from different offenses he played against. A lot of people doubled him to try and keep him away from the quarterback. We liked his mobility. We went down and spent some time with him during the offseason. We got a chance to meet with him, talk with him and check out his football knowledge, and do a little bit of research on him down there. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about him. We were impressed with the kid when we met with him. We were really impressed with him when we worked him and out and did some linebacker drills. He probably had one of the best workouts this year of anyone we’ve seen.”
Emmanuel Sanders – Wide Receiver
What He Said:
“My playing style is I am a very elusive player. Off the ball, I’m very quick. Some receivers fit in a category of more quick than fast, but I feel like I bring both of those to the table because my straight line speed and I feel like I’m very quick too.”
What They Said About Him:
Wide Receivers Coach Scottie Montgomery:
“I think he is an unbelievable person to start with and a great addition to the room. I had the opportunity to sit with him a couple of times now, and mentally he’s as strong as a lot of the guys that I had a chance to be around during this draft process. I really think he’s going to be a young man that’s going to be quick to the tuck. He’s a guy that can finish the football and I’m really, really extremely happy and excited about the opportunity to work with him.”
Thaddeus Gibson – Outside Linebacker
What He Said:
“I’ve always liked the Steelers. The defensive coordinator is from Ohio State I met him a couple years ago, he’s just a great guy and I’m happy to be playing for him. This is a blessing, and they’re coached by a great linebacker that played professional football for awhile and there are obviously great linebackers that play there now. I’m just excited for the opportunity and ready to go.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“Initially when I started watching him, when we grade or evaluate we usually try to watch a game early, a game in the middle of the season, and a game late. And a thing that stood out to me more than anything was his improvement over the year. He really improved as a player, in terms of rushing and getting to the ball carrier and getting to the quarterback, as the year went along. I was kind of disappointed when I first started watching him and then the more and more I watched him, the more and more he grew on me a little bit, because he played better than he played at the beginning of the year. So he got better, so we look for him to improve more than he did this year, when he gets here.”
Chris Scott – Offensive Tackle
What He Said:
“I think I’m more versatile as an offensive lineman being that I can play all five positions along the offensive line. To have a lot of experience playing a lot of those positions, I think it’s a good thing to and that’s pretty much what describes me as a player overall.”
What They Said About Him:
Offensive line coach Sean Kugler:
“He's a physical player. We feel he's got some position flexibility; we feel he's the type that could play guard for us as well, which is real important. And he played at a high level of competition each week in the SEC and did a nice job versus those guys. He's got great size, about 320 and we feel he can commit and compete.”
Crezdon Butler – Cornerback
What He Said:
“I’m physical and I can cover. I’ll come down and make the hit and I’ll support the run, and I’ll cover the best receiver. They put me on the best receiver at Clemson a lot, and I want to continue that.”
What They Said About Him:
Defensive Back Coach Ray Horton:
“He’s big, he’s strong and he’s fast. That’s what we need right now, we need guys that can come in and pick off the ball. With the addition of Bryant (McFadden)and Crezdon we feel our special teams will also get better.”
Stevenson Sylvester – Inside Linebacker
What He Said:
“I’m just going to work wherever they put me. I’m excited to be in the NFL. It’s a dream come true. I’m just going to work. It doesn’t matter if they put me on special teams, I’m just happy to be there.”
What They Said About Him:
Linebackers Coach Keith Butler:
“He’s a fast, fast-playing, aggressive, play-hard kid, has a real good feel for blitzing. He enjoys playing the game. He played on a defense at Utah – Utah does a great job with their kids, and they hustle to the ball, run to the ball. This kid, it’s what he does. He does a good job of timing blitzes from the outside and does a good job of running to the football and finding the ball carrier. He, like a lot of inside linebackers like this, struggles with big guys. But what we do in our system for our guys I think will help him. He’s a good fit for us.”
Jonathan Dwyer – Running Back
What He Said:
“I’m glad the Steelers believe in me and I’m definitely not going to let them down. I’m going to go in and compete and do whatever I can to make plays and get us a Super Bowl ring.”
What They Said About Him:
Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson:
“With the ball in his hand, he has good plant strength. He’s aggressive when he has the ball in his hands. And he’s got some savvy to him in terms of, he’s had a lot of opportunities to run the football in college. He’s a workhorse-type of running back, and he should excel at the next level as a runner. He’s got some other things he’s going to need to work on, but he does have some natural running ability. Again, when you are 230 pounds, that is a plus and that can’t be taught.”
Antonio Brown – Wide Receiver
What He Said in regards to what he likes more: playing receiver or returning punts and kickoffs more?
“I love both of them. I hope I can get on the field with the team. You know, I'm all for it. Returning is my specialty I love doing that. But, I'm also a receiver with catching the ball and getting it in the end zone.”
What They Said About Him:
Wide Receivers Coach Scottie Montgomery:
“He is an exceptional player with the football in his hands. He’s one of those natural guys at fielding punts and kickoff returns. There’s a lot of things you can do from a coaching standpoint, but if they can’t get to the spot and catch it, then you can’t really help a lot of them. He is one of those guys that does have the natural ability to catch it. He has great short-space quickness. He is one of the last guys in a long line of guys to come out that can make a move going forward, being able to put his foot in the ground in a forward motion, meaning not coming to stop or coming to balance in order to make someone miss.”
Doug Worthington – Defensive End
What He Said:
“The biggest thing for me is they have a lot of great players in there right now. They have great defensive ends. Coming in there knowing some of the scheme will be a great opportunity for me.”
What They Said About Him:
Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert:
“Like Thaddeus he’s played in a scheme similar to ours. He has the body to play our five technique, and he’s just a nice size guy to have at that position.”
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