The Pittsburgh Steelers have maintained their elite defensive fame through the years as a result of the veteran defenders set a excessive customary for the youthful guys and do their greatest to mentor them alongside the best way. Cam Heyward has been a vocal, veteran chief for your complete protection for years now. T.J. Watt units the instance for the move rushers. And now, third-year defensive lineman Keeanu Benton is getting a style of what it means to be a frontrunner as he practices with rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
Throughout OTAs on Thursday, Benton mentioned his function as a mentor for Harmon and different younger Steelers defenders. He went on to reward Harmon’s perspective.
“[Mentoring’s] been cool and I really feel prefer it helps me as nicely, you already know simply maintaining at it, telling them particulars, sort of refreshing for myself,” Benton mentioned by way of Publish-Gazette Sports activities on YouTube. “[Derrick Harmon] and [Yahya Black], they’ve been good rookies.”
He later spoke particularly on Harmon.
“He’s hungry. You’ll be able to inform he’s going to suit proper in with us,” Benton mentioned. “He needs to return right here and win and be one of the best he will be…After I got here in, I wished someone to take me underneath their wing and it was Cam [Heyward] and Larry [Ogunjobi], so I’m presupposed to do the identical factor for him.”
The Steelers protection is nearing a altering of the guard. Fairly quickly, Derrick Harmon and Keeanu Benton should be the brand new Cam and Larry O. To ensure that the altering of the guard to be as easy as potential, gamers like Benton should embrace their new veteran roles. Benton remains to be attempting to determine himself as a clear-cut, constant starter within the NFL. He’s received loads of room to enhance and hone his sport, notably as a run-stopper. Abysmal run-defense price the Steelers on the finish of final season. A as soon as vaunted unit crumbled, permitting over 200 yards dashing to the Baltimore Ravens twice of their ultimate 4 video games. Reminiscences of these video games are nonetheless recent, however Benton and others must take that humiliation and use it as gas.
For Harmon to be one of the best participant he will be as quickly as potential, Benton, Heyward and others want to indicate him what it means to put on the black-and-gold on protection. Harmon himself spoke about Benton’s function as a extra relatable presence, since Benton was going by all of the rookie rising pains simply two years in the past.
There are excessive expectations for Harmon and this Steelers line of defense. If Benton and Heyward’s mentorship could make a distinction, we might be watching a star starting his upward ascension when huge quantity 99 takes the sector for the primary time.
