Before every game at the University of Iowa, defensive end Yahya Black did something most wouldn't expect.
He listened to Adele as his pregame choice of music.
Not that there is anything wrong with listening to Adele, but her sentimental songwriting isn't exactly hype-music before a physical football game.
But that was just the plan.
"That's what I did every single game since freshman year," said Black. "It was the calm before the storm.
"A big part of it was I don't want to rile myself up, and Adele is that soothing voice. My stepmom introduced her music to me when I was young, and I stuck with it."
With the way Black plays the game, a calm before the storm is something that is a necessity.
Black, who is 6-5, 352 pounds, is what Coach Mike Tomlin referred to as an F-350.
"There's F-150s," said Tomlin. "He's like an F-350. He's a big man."
Black laughed at the reference, admitting he didn't know how big an F-350 is.
"I think there's some big people out there, but yeah, I'd say I'm pretty big," said Black. "I don't know what an F-350 looks like, but I might have to look that up after this."
In addition to the size, Tomlin was also referring to the power that Black has, especially against the run. It's something he takes great pride in and wants to bring that to Pittsburgh.
"I've always been a run through your face type of person," said Black. "I'm glad other people notice it too. I'm a run stopper guy, so I'm going to do everything in my power to stop the run and then develop in any other place that I need to.
"I'm a high-motor guy. I have that drive. It comes from my family. My toughness comes from them too. It really was instilled in me at a young age from my dad to all my coaches growing up. We struggled growing up. My dad was always working tough jobs, working construction and things like that. He was always a hard worker and always tried to put me in the best position, something that he couldn't do himself as a kid. So, I recognized that growing up and probably never said it to him enough about how much he's taught me how to be tough, but I really took it to heart. And that's always just been a big message that I've carried along with me."
It was that struggle that really makes Black want to find success at this level. He grew up in Marshall, Minnesota, population just under 14,000.
"It's a bunch of cornfields, there's not much around," said Black. "We've got a college located there, and we've got Schwan's ice cream company."
As he played football, he started to see it could make a difference in his life, take him to places he never thought he could go.
"It was always a dream. I always wanted to be a football player," said Black. "The reality didn't hit until my third year in college where I realized this is a possibility.
"It all started to become reality when the game slowed down for me. I was always around guys that had good heads on their shoulders. And they always talked about how the game just slows down when you get to that point. I can tell you, those first two or three years, my mind was racing. Everything felt like I was going 200 miles per hour in a NASCAR race. And then the next thing you know, it's like I'm driving down the highway and going 60 miles per hour and it feels like I am riding a moped. That's when it hit.
"I don't know yet what the pace is going be like, but once the mental side of it slows down, it gets easier."
