In Will Howard and Jack Sawyer, the Steelers brought in two more Buckeyes for Ryan Shazier to root for. But more than that, he sees in them potential future team leaders. Right now, they just have to work their way into the team, but who knows what the future holds?
Howard only joined the Buckeyes last season, so Shazier is more familiar with Sawyer.
"He's a guy that's a hard worker," he said on the Arthur Moats Experience. "He grinds for everything he gets, and he's a good person. It was really good that we got them. And both [Sawyer and Howard were] captains for the team. I think that's something good to have on our team."
Shazier was a Buckeye himself, whom the Steelers drafted in 2014, many years before Sawyer and Howard. He rose to near the top of his game before a career-ending injury changed the course of his life and the franchise. He has still remained in the game, though, and has even worked with the Steelers.
Still following the Steelers closely, Shazier does see the need to develop younger leadership.
"We have a young team. On the defensive side, we have a lot of leaders. But I just think, in general, as our team gets older, we need some younger leaders," Shazier said.
He added of Jack Sawyer and Will Howard, "I think that both of those guys can be that."
The Steelers drafted OLB Jack Sawyer in the fourth round and QB Will Howard in the sixth. Neither of them is coming in this year to start, and will most likely be behind entrenched veterans. In Sawyer's case, he comes in behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and even Nick Herbig. For Howard, he is behind Mason Rudolph but will likely defer to Aaron Rodgers in particular.
However, talent has a way of winning out, as often as not, so these young Buckeyes have the opportunity to write their own story. Sawyer and Howard are just beginning their careers with the Steelers. At this point, they haven't even taken the practice field with the veterans, just the rookies.
But it's that time of the year when you talk about the rookies since we just drafted them. It's not unreasonable to have a level of excitement about a fourth-round pass rusher, nor a quarterback at any point in the draft. Will Howard might not ever lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl, but you never know. Most first-round picks never manage that, either. And as far as Jack Sawyer goes, well, you can always use another pass rusher.
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