The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a long history with trying to find their exact match at the secondary positions. As of these past couple of years, the organization has brought in some heavy talented players at the cornerback and safety positions in hopes of bolstering our defense, this team's cornerstone. While our defense looks like it will be going through a big change at the cornerback position, with some new faces set to make bigger impacts this upcoming season than in years past, the safety position is one that is a little more set and stone, a position with less question marks heading into the new year.
The Steelers did their part in trying to add helpful pieces to the mix at both positions to be quite honest. This year's seventh round selection Tre Norwood is a player that hasn’t necessarily gotten the utmost amount of attention this off-season. He is a 7th round pick, working everyday to make a dent on this football team in any way he can. What’s interesting about Norwood’s ability is that he wasn’t particularly used at one solid position during his college career, he mostly played safety covering the deep half of the field with pride, but also showed the ability to cover receivers on the outside. He shined in both areas enough to earn the title “Swiss Army Knife” by his new NFL Head Coach, Mike Tomlin.
“I take a lot of pride in that,” Norwood said in an interview with Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “That is one of the main things I have always prided myself on in college. First, it’s the mental aspect of understanding every position in the back end, what is going on there. Just being able to have the ability and mental capability to not only go out there and play the positions, but do it at a high level, be productive, and contribute to the team is something I take huge pride in and I will continue to take pride in.”
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"I feel like it helps me a lot that I am not a one-dimensional guy. Any position on the back end I can play and do it at a high level. Any position I need to play on the back end to help the team get to the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl, that is what I am there for."
Obviously, Norwood’s versatility is something this is one going to benefit this football team, it’s not something that seems to scare Norwood. Yes, every player wants to do everything in their power to be able to help their team win each game, but it also helps when the guys are comfortable doing what’s being asked of them. In Norwood’s case, being asked to potentially play a multitude of positions is something he does not shy away from.
"I don't look at it as challenging," said Norwood. "It's something I intentionally wanted to do when I got to college. Once I had the opportunity to do it, I took pride in it. I look at it as more opportunity. I am blessed to be able to do that, to be able to move around on the back end and play all of the positions."
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Listen, I LOVE to see the confidence. Anytime a guy steps onto the field with confidence like that, success usually follows, but still Norwood’s play is something that is going to be looked at by many around the organization. It seems like he has done enough to capture the attention of Coach Tomlin up to this point, but we will wait and see if that success carries over into making the final 53.
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