This is one of the most exciting times for Steelers fans as they build towards another Super Bowl run!
In celebration of the draft, here are some of the exciting and personal draft stories of many former Steelers.
Rod Woodson: “I never talked to Pittsburgh – I had no conversations with them at all throughout the process. I did talk to the Chargers and New Orleans, who I think would have taken me right after Pittsburgh.
I knew that if I was there at Pittsburgh’s pick they would take me. Stouffer and Junken were taken before me – earlier than most people thought they would be. I was blessed to end up going to one of the best sports organizations in all of sports. When they called me, they asked if I would mind being a Steeler. I was like, really? Definitely! It was one of my best memories, sitting at home in Indiana with my family together when I got that call.”
Mike Wagner: “So, I went to school at Western Illinois University, which was in the cornfields of Western Illinois. Nothing but cornfields there then this giant modern campus near this little town. It was hard for scouts to get there. I didn’t have a scholarship when I got there. They didn’t have cell phones then. If you lived in a dorm or fraternity, you may have had a phone in the hall.
So, I didn’t find out I was drafted for a couple of days. They called my coach who tracked me down and told me to call the Steelers. So I did and Ralph Berlin called me back and said congratulations, and told me they were going to negotiate a contract with me. I told him that was great and asked him to contact my agent. There was this pause. And then he said “Agent? You’re an eleventh round pick. You have an agent!?” I just told him that, with all respect sir, yes, to please call him and he’ll take care of it!”
Calvin Austin: “I was somewhat surprised. My agent told me the team you don’t expect will be the team that takes you. I did have a great talk with Coach Fris (Frisman Jackson) at the combine. When I got the call from Coach Tomlin he he asked me what I was doing. I told him I was watching the draft and he told me I didn’t have to watch it anymore – they were drafting me! When I saw my name in the screen it was surreal.”
Bubby Brister: “Tom Moore came down to visit me and I could tell he was interested. I had a great workout and we had a great relationship. But during the draft the Rams owner called me and said they wanted to take me with their second round pick. I was excited that I could go in the second round. But they were trying to trade for Jack Kemp from San Francisco and it didn’t work out, so they said they’d take me in the third round. But Pittsburgh picked me first. I was elated. My uncle was a coach at Louisiana Tech when Bradshaw played there. I couldn’t have gotten drafted by a better organization.”
Lionel Taylor: “Before the draft we were deciding on whether we wanted to draft Swann or Stallworth round one. Chuck was leaning towards Stallworth but Haley said Stallworth would be there around round four. At the Senior Bowl I saw Stallworth play. One play he ran down the sideline and had his guy beat but the pass was under-thrown and he waited on it and the defensive back knocked it away. The coach talked to him right after the play and later on he had his guy beat again on the sideline and again the ball was under-thrown. This time Stallworth jumped back into the ball and caught it. Whatever the coach told him he listened to and right then I knew Stallworth was a coachable player.”
Jamain Stephens: “I was frustrated actually that I wasn’t picked earlier. I left and started walking out of the house during the draft and was yards away when my brother came out and yelled at me that Coach Cowher was on the phone and Pittsburgh was about to take me. I took off running back to the house and was out of breath, breathing heavily, so I held the phone away from my face while he talked to me and told me they were taking me with their pick!”
Alonzo Jackson: “I was super surprised yes. I had a draft party in Georgia. My dad passed away before the draft – he never got to see me get drafted. But he told me once that he said I could end up playing stand-up linebacker for an NFL team. I told him he was crazy.
Well, when Cowher called me it was crazy. I heard his voice on the phone and he said “Hey Alonzo, how are you doing?” I told him “Please don’t be playing with me coach!” and he told me that they were coming up to grab me. It was wild.”
Mark Whipple: “My report had Ben over Rivers. I was the coach at U Mass when we played Rivers. He was a tremendously talented guy. In fact, two of those three quarterbacks taken first in the draft that year should be first ballot Hall of Famers. Rivers just didn’t have the team around him the other guys did. I was really impressed with Phil but Ben was a year younger which we valued, and he was a lot more athletic. I didn’t meet Phil’s parents but Ben’s were great people. And playing well in the cold weather was a huge thing. His senior year he played Bowling Green in a snow storm and threw for over 430 yards. That’s huge for a player playing in Pittsburgh. We’re not playing in a dome.
He didn’t even play quarterback until his junior year in high school. He was a wide receiver before then because they were starting someone else there instead.”
Carlton Haselrig: “I was surprised to be drafted by the Steelers though, even if it was in the last round. I actually had a free agent contract set up for the next day – I went through the process with my agent to see who was the best fit for me. Pittsburgh was definitely in the conversation but I was surprised they drafted me.”
D.J. Johnson: “I kind of had a feeling I as on their radar. They spoke to me a couple of times and Dermontti Dawson was there. He played at Kentucky and came out a year before I did. He called me and told me he saw my name on a draft board and that they asked him about me. So I did know there was interest. Getting drafted by them was mind-blowing. ”
Scottie Montgomery: “I liked Antonio Brown really high in the draft. Mike and Kevin though knew to take Emmanuel Sanders much earlier – in the third round. They felt Antonio could be had later. My feelings were hurt – I wanted AB higher – but finally Mike came into my office in the sixth round and told me to stop moping, that we could take him now. They knew better. I had to have the humility to know they knew better than to take him as high as I wanted too.”
Mel Blount: “I was surprised. I didn’t know anybody on the Steelers. They weren’t a good team then. It’s funny because sometimes what you think is the best thing for you isn’t always the best thing. It turned out it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It gave me the opportunity to grow and adjust to that kind of life,
In college, I had nothing from the clothes on my back. You go from that to getting checks and cars and money. It was a big adjustment.
How did you find out you were drafted?
The coaches had to come find me on campus. There wasn’t the build-up to the draft like there is today. The coaches told me to go to the coaches office and we called the Steelers. I talked with Art Rooney – he was the scout then. I was disappointed. I went in the third round and like everyone, i thought I should have been a number one pick. But it turned out to be a blessing.“
Tony Dungy: “I think the Lord must have set it up for me to be there. Through elementary school, high school, and college I always thought I’d play quarterback in the NFL
I could have played quarterback in Canada for the Montreal Alouettes out of college. Marv Levy was the coach there and he wanted me to play for them and told me I could be a successful quarterback for them. But I wanted to play against the best, in the NFL.
The Steelers called too and they told me they wanted me to change positions and help the team at a different position. Now it was a decision to play a position I knew or to go against the best.
It was something, a feeling inside that is hard to explain.I could have taken a $50,000 bonus and guaranteed money in Canada, or the $2,000 bonus and no guarantee in Pittsburgh to even make the team. But something inside drove me to go to Pittsburgh and try to make it work there.”
Scout Bruce McNorton: “A lot of people think scouting is mostly going to games, but really the majority is watching film. You can run the film back again. Often times we may be looking at a receiver but get distracted by something else or miss the blocks by linemen.”
Ryan Mundy: “At West Virginia’s pro day, Coach Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, Dick LeBeau and Ray Horton all came out. I didn’t think much about it at the time. I didn’t put two and two together to think they were coming to see me. I just figured it was one-hour away so they made an easy local trip. I only found out later that they had come specifically to see me.
I was brought in for a visit by the Steelers and they had me take the Wonderlic Test. I didn’t attend the combine so didn’t take the test before, so I took it there. I got all of the answers right – a 29 out of 29. The scout walked in and said “Are you some kind of genius?” I didn’t know what he was talking about but then he told me I got every answer correct. After that Ray Horton came in to talk with me – he’s the one that told me about them all going to the pro day to see me.”
Chris Hope: “Now I know better, having experienced the NFL, I know now why they drafted me. There was a lot of interest in me by Pittsburgh at my pro day. Willy Robinson, the Steelers Defensive Backs Coach was there. Bryant McFadden went to college with me and he was there too cheering us on. He told me the Steelers coach was watching me and making good comments about me. I’m not sure how he heard, if the coach was speaking through a microphone! But I ran a 4.45 40 on grass, which was a fast time for a safety. It was a good fit. But then, I was just focused on having a good pro day. I didn’t know what would happen for sure. I knew the Eagles were also interested but they drafted Michael Lewis.”
Anthony Chickillo: “Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert came to my pro day so I knew they were interested. I think they could see my athleticism. That I could work well in open space. I think that led to me getting drafted by them. Tomlin told me then he thought they would draft me but didn’t know what round. It was an emotional day. My family and I were excited, but I was down at the same time. I thought I’d get drafted higher than the 212th pick, to be honest. I thought maybe in the third round.”
Mark Bruener: “I had a great opportunity to meet Coach Cowher and the rest of the coaching staff then. For the draft, this is a funny story. I was watching at my folks’ house and was waiting to see who would take me. As the Steelers pick came up the phone rang. They asked if it was Mark and I said it was, then they said hold on. Now, this was before cell phones. I look and see my name on the screen telling me I was drafted but no one got on and said congratulations ….I was ecstatic – I can’t describe the feeling. I don’t know if they were talking to someone about a trade or what happened though! But it was a dream come true. It was the chance to play the sport you played since you were a kid at the ultimate level.”
Russell Davis: “I thought I might be a first round pick. That was the scuttlebutt. I had a great career at Michigan, How many fullbacks rush for 1,000 yard seasons. I was at home but after the second round I apologized to my family and went to my girlfriends house. My father called me though and told me I needed to get back home, that the Steelers called and said they were going to draft me. I went home and they called back and congratulated me on being drafted. I forgot who called me but they told me they’d fly me up for a meet and greet.”
Donta Jones: “The Giants, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay all seemed more interested before the draft. I had no clue the Steelers were interested. It was a dream come true. The day of the draft, as the draft went on, Kiper had me going to San Francisco in the second round. But playing out of position, I fell to the fourth round. Denver was on the clock when the Steelers called. Everyone in the room thought Denver was drafting me.”
Scout Doug Kretz: “Colbert had a phenomenal system on how to evaluate players. He marked every player with character or injury issues and it affected where they were on the board but he never took them off the board. He also didn’t care about what other teams did. They made their own decisions. He said Pittsburgh will make its own decisions and own mistakes.
Back then Pittsburgh ran the 3-4 so those outside linebacker types that no one else wanted – it made it easy for Pittsburgh to find them.
But what made the process successful was that the coaches trusted the scouts. Some teams, the coaches and scouts fight with each other. In Pittsburgh, they trusted each other and all understood their roles and process.
What made Pittsburgh so successful relative to other teams in the draft?
They didn’t try to get too smart. Some programs try to out-think others and think they can take highly productive guys in college and teach them the things they couldn’t do in college. If a receiver dropped a lot of passes but was fast, some coaches felt like they could teach them to catch better. Well, it doesn’t usually work like that. People forget most of those kids had good college coaches too!
Some teams let ego get in the way thinking they can coach players to be better than their film. Pittsburgh kept it simple. They didn’t look at just production or let ego get in the way. They trusted the film.”
Mike Miller: “I loved mock draft day. Colbert would hold mock draft day every year the day before the draft. He was always very prepared and we would run through a million scenarios on the magnetic board. Each time showing that if one thing happens and teams do one thing, and a player is still there, which player do we want then… We’d do it again and again.
Well, in 2003 I was on the offensive side of the staff but I watched film of Troy Polamalu. He was amazing. Kenny Jackson wasn’t there for some reason so Kevin looked at me and asked who I’d take in one of the scenarios. Everyone was in the room – the coaches, scouts and front office people…
So, I got up and said we pick at twenty-seven, but at twenty-two, the Jets get a phone call, and the Steelers announce they traded up to get Troy Polamalu. Well, there was a big “Woooo!” in the room from everyone!
The offensive coaches gave me a lot of slack. It turned into an argument. They were pretty upset and asked me why I did it. That the only safety that should ever be taken that high was Ronnie Lott. I told them I watched the film on this guy. I told them Polalamu won’t be as good as Lott.. That he will be better than Lott!
The next day I walked in to the draft room and the coaches asked me if I was happy. I didn’t know what they were talking about. Then they told me the Steelers had traded up at pick sixteen to get Polamalu!”
Louis Lipps; “Bill Nunn called – he called me a few times. He asked if I was excited to play for the Steelers and that if I was still there at their pick they would probably take me. He was rambling a bit and my agent got frustrated that he was tying up the line. About fifteen minutes later Bill called again and my agent got fed up and told Bill not to call again unless I was picked – there’s no switchboard at the pizza joint! Well, the next time, around noon, Bill called again and I could see on the screen the paper being passed up for my pick.”
Dwayne Woodruff: “I was listening to the draft on the radio with Nathan and the Steelers had the last pick in the sixth round. The time on the radio program had just run out before that sixth pick. We didn’t hear who was picked and neither one figured it was us. We were walking out the door when the phone rang and the person on the phone said the Steelers just drafted you. I thought it was a prank because everyone knew the radio program had just turned off before the pick, so I hung up on them. The phone rang again, and the defensive coach George Perles was on the phone and told me, don’t hang up on me this time! That’s how I got drafted.”
Mark Bruener: “I was watching at my folks’ house and was waiting to see who would take me. As the Steelers pick came up the phone rang. They asked if it was Mark and I said it was, then they said hold on. Now, this was before cell phones. I look and see my name on the screen telling me I was drafted but no one got on and said congratulations ….I was ecstatic – I can’t describe the feeling. I don’t know if they were talking to someone about a trade or what happened though! But it was a dream come true. It was the chance to play the sport you played since you were a kid at the ultimate level.”
Doug Whaley: “Character means different things. Its a combination in Pittsburgh – football character and off-the-field character. Football character is what we did a really good job of looking for when I was there. That means that their whole agenda should be about being the best they can be to help the team win a Super Bowl. In the training room, weight room – everything should be about helping the team win.”
Chukky Okobi: “I got the call from Mike Miller, an assistant offense coach at the time. He was making small talk trying to tie up my phone line so nobody else would draft me in that round. It felt like destiny to me more than anything else. I felt like I had been a part of his team whole life anyway, just like every other Steelers fan out there!”
Greg Hawthorne: “Joe Greene was my inspiration. He came to my house in Texas after I was drafted. I didn’t even know he was in the area. My mom told me to come downstairs. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to play pro ball when I was drafted.”
Dale Dodrill: “I wasn’t aware that I was drafted. No one contacted me. I didn’t know much about the NFL then. My dad used to ask me when I was going to get a real job when I first started playing in the NFL. I found out later I was drafted when I got a letter and contract in the mail. I was never contacted personally.”
Tony Hills: “I had one meeting with the Steelers at the combine. It was fun. We talked football and family. Some nickname jokes. But I thought I was going to be drafted by the Chargers, to be honest. I was thinking the third round. That made sense to me. They invested in me – flying me in from Dallas to meet with the head man and the offensive line coach. When I left there I thought to myself, this is where I’m going. I was naive!
When the draft started, the first round went by and I was fine. I knew I didn’t have much of a chance. By the third round, I was getting excited. It was getting down to San Diego’s pick. I was looking at the picks and the clock, and when it came to San Diego, they announced the pick as…Jacob Hester. I was like, Whaaat? I had no idea what was about to happen then.”
Carlos King: “A couple of days before the draft Cowher told me that if I was there they’d take me. Denver I know was interested in me too. I didn’t visit with the Steelers but Cowher also came down to talk to me and told me they wanted to draft me.”