Practice Report: Shazier Dominated

LATROBE, Pa. - A breakdown of Practice No. 3 at Saint Vincent College: **BACKS-ON-’BACKERS:* LB Ryan Shazier dominated in the one-on-one pass-rush/pass-protection exercise that traditionally highlights the Steelers’ first day in pads. RB Le'Veon Bell was beaten by a swim move on Shazier’s first rep, the third of the drill. Shazier subsequently got the better of FB Roosevelt Nix and then knocked RB Cameron Stingily flat on his back on the way to the quarterback. Head coach Mike Tomlin immediately called for a repeat rep for those two, as he often does when one of the combatants gets overwhelmed. After Shazier won that, as well, Tomlin declared “5-0 looks like the man today.” Shazier’s last winning rep came at the expense of RB Brandon Johnson. RB Le’Veon Bell took the first rep for the offense and got the better of LB Ryan Shazier. LB William Gay took a rep and was opposed by TE David Johnson (Harrison eventually got to the quarterback but it took him a while to get there in what became quite a battle). And RB Brandon Brown-Dukes, a rookie from Mercyhurst, apparently made some progress. Tomlin referred to Brown-Dukes as “Hyphenated Mercyhurst” before Brown-Dukes prepared to engage LB L.J. Fort. After Brown-Dukes prevailed, Tomlin had some words of encouragement. “I’m going to start calling you by your name,” Tomlin said. *SEVEN SHOTS:* QB Ben Roethlisberger had the day off and QB Landry Jones was given the keys to the first-team offense. Jones went 1-for-4 passing, missing Bell (LB Bud Dupree broke up the pass), hitting David Johnson for a conversion, missing WR Antonio Brown (CB Stephon Tuitt had the coverage) and failing to connect with Williams, who beat Fort but dropped the pass. Williams was also tackled well short of the goal line on a draw (the first official tackle of camp in the first “live” drill of camp). QB Dustin Vaughn found Nix in the end zone and threw incomplete for Bell and the drill ended 5-2 in favor of the defense. TACKLE FOOTBALL: The shoulder pads were put to good use in an 11-on-11 drill as well as in “Seven Shots.” RB Fitz Toussaint felt the wrath of S Mike Mitchell, S Robert Golden and CB William Gay but hung onto the ball. Shazier and Harrison blew up an attempt to get wide by RB Daryl Richardson. Richardson also got smoked by S Sean Davis but avoided being tackled and kept going. Davis later blasted Brown-Dukes on what became a tackle for a loss. And Toussaint was tackled by about five defenders late in the drill (apparently the Steelers are still emphasizing running to the football on defense). Shazier also had a big hit on Stingily on one of the last plays in the final 11-on-11 drill of practice (the Steelers had stopped tackling by then). *WELCOME TO CAMP:** Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari and West Virginia football head coach Dana Holgorsen were among the visitors to campus. Gay, a product of Louisville, taped a sign to his T-shirt that read “Louisville Rules” in Calipari’s honor. MEDICAL FILE: Nix (“shaken up,” according to Tomlin), Brandon Johnson (“shaken up”) and TE Xavier Grimble (heat exhaustion) started practice but didn’t finish. S Robert Golden (sick) returned to practice. AUDIBLES: DE Cam Heyward got the pre-practice stretch off to a rousing start, shouting “Happy birthday, ‘D-Will’ (Williams). I’m proud of you. You 35?” The crowd on the hillside took that as a cue to serenade Williams with a chorus of “Happy Birthday.” Williams, who turned 33 on April 25, responded, “It’s not fun to make fun of an old guy.”