Day One of rookie mini camp ended as it had begun for Terrell Edmunds, with a small circle of teammates in prayer.
"I'm a big guy in my faith," Edmunds said. "That's a big thing that I'm into. You saw it was a group of guys. We're all here together. We're all competing together. We're all doing everything as a brotherhood right now.
"Even though we might not be together (this season), we're going to be a brotherhood while we're here this weekend."
In between, the Steelers' No. 1 pick was deployed as advertised.
"I played some safety, a lot of safety," Edmunds reported. "I played a few little linebacker positions, just going out there competing. Sometimes, I was over the top, it just depends on how everything unfolded. There are a lot of calls being made. (Fifth-round safety) Marcus Allen and I, we're both calling it back and forth. We have a lot of communication between us because we both can be interchangeable at the position.
"You have to go out there and play ball. Any position that you go to, you have to make a play. The coaches, they're putting you in a position to make a play. Regardless of where they put you, they believe in you. I'm just going to go out there and give 'em all I got and, hopefully, make a play for them."
Edmunds addressed a variety of topics after playing multiple positions during his on-field introduction to the Steelers.
Among them:
-Entering the NFL as a No. 1 pick: "You just come out with the mentality that you weren't picked at all. You can't think that you're a first-round pick and everything's going to fall to you. I'm coming out and competing every day."
-The pressure associated with being a first-round selection: "My dad always told me pressure makes diamonds, so you have to come out there, you have to show them why they picked you. I came out here to compete and that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully, I can turn a few heads."
-Learning the defense: "I wouldn't say that they're trying to overwhelm us but they're definitely trying to put in some defensive calls. It's a man's game, like they always say. It's not a little boy's game. You have to be able to pick up the stuff."
-Defensive backs coach Tom Bradley: "He tells us a lot. He has a lot written down on his board. He's the type of guy to write a whole lot on the board. He's very detailed in his teaching, so I'm thankful for that. He told us a whole lot and I retained a lot."
-Noticing other high-profile rookies, such as second-round wide receiver James Washington and third-round quarterback Mason Rudolph: "Honestly, I didn't look. I wouldn't say I looked and tried to pick out numbers and jerseys or faces. Whoever was out in front of me, I was going to have to lock 'em down, 'D' 'em d-em up and then my guys were going to back me up on the back end. That's how we did it."
