JuJu not afraid to be great
In the first week of OTAs, Ben Roethlisberger hit JuJu Smith-Schuster deep for a touchdown over the top of the defense.
In the second week, Roethlisberger found Smith-Schuster in the middle of the end zone from close range and pumped a fastball right into his gut for a touchdown.
In the third week, Smith-Schuster beat Daimion Stafford by a step, maybe two, to catch a pass from Josh Dobbs over the middle. Smith-Schuster was off to the races for a long touchdown run.
It really wasn鈥檛 that difficult for Smith-Schuster, the Steelers鈥� second-round draft pick, to get noticed this spring, even with Antonio Brown practicing every day and a muscled-up and highly conditioned Martavis Bryant making a statement in his return to the field.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a quick study,鈥� venerable Steelers WRs coach Richard Mann said of Smith-Schuster. 鈥淰ery coachable. I think he鈥檚 got good hands. I think he鈥檚 got functional competitive speed. I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 a burner, but he鈥檚 got competitive speed. I鈥檝e seen him get the ball down the field.
鈥淏een very pleased, but again we鈥檝e got to wait till we put the pads on, which I don鈥檛 think he鈥檒l miss a lick because he鈥檚 got toughness.鈥�
When it was mentioned to Mann that Smith-Schuster already looks as if he has pads on, Mann said, 鈥淵eah, he鈥檚 got that toughness about him, so we鈥檒l see.鈥�
Toughness in the same vein as Anquan Boldin and Hines Ward. Those are the former NFL stars to which Smith-Schuster had been compared before the draft by players-turned-analysts Curtis Conway and Ike Taylor, respectively.
n Boldin came out of Florida State at 6- 5/8, 216, with a 4.71 40 as a second-round pick who went on to catch 101 passes as a 23-year-old rookie.
n Smith-Schuster came out of USC at 6-1 3/8, 215, 4.54 40, as a second-round pick who won鈥檛 turn 21 until Nov. 22. He was the youngest player drafted.
n Ward came out of Georgia at 6-0, 210, with 4.55 speed, but lasted until the third round because doctors at the NFL Combine learned that he didn鈥檛 have a left ACL.
That鈥檚 some heady company for the exact type of physical possession receiver the Steelers need to fit between Brown and Bryant.
But there was another player from another position on the other side of the ball that Smith-Schuster wanted to emulate when he went to USC as a safety.
鈥淵eah, Troy Polamalu,鈥� said Smith-Schuster, who grew up in a Samoan household in Southern California and was given his mother鈥檚 name, Toa, as his middle name.
鈥淚 talked to him throughout high school,鈥� Smith-Schuster said. 鈥淭here was a Polynesian game he came to. He was one of our guest hosts and he talked to us. Since I got here he texted me and said he lives out here and whatever I need let me know. He initiated that. It was nice of him to do that.鈥�
Smith-Schuster played a Samoan favorite, rugby, for six years but turned to football because of the scholarship opportunities. He idolized Polamalu and thought he would end up as a safety, as did the recruiting experts at the time. But Smith-Schuster was put at wide receiver the summer before his freshman season at USC and stayed there.
In his first game, Smith-Schuster set a school debut record with 123 receiving yards and finished his three-year USC career with 213 receptions for 3,092 yards (14.5 avg.) and 25 touchdowns.
He had everything except burner speed, and was also dinged before the draft as having 鈥渄iva鈥� traits due to his involvement in a practice brawl with teammates following a loss to Alabama last year. Smith-Schuster said the fight had nothing to do with him being a diva.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a passion I have for the game,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e played against Alabama and our team was fired up that week to practice, and we played and we lost 52-6. And, the next week they were all relaxing easy because we were playing Utah State. I felt like my teammates were taking it too easy in practice. I did the wrong thing for punching my teammates. I should鈥檝e just called them up and had a team meeting, but instead, my emotions were (pause) I have too much care for the game and I hate losing.鈥�
Clay Helton, the USC coach, explained the brawl this way: 鈥淓very day is a game to that kid.鈥�
Draft day was a similar competition, and it鈥檚 left Smith-Schuster with a short list of teams marked for revenge.
A Long Beach kid who stayed home for college, Smith-Schuster met before the draft with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams, which led him to believe there was a great chance he would continue his career at home. But the Chargers drafted Mike Williams with the seventh pick and the Rams traded down and took tight end Gerald Everett with the 44th pick. The Steelers drafted Smith-Schuster 62nd before the Rams drafted receivers Cooper Kupp 69th and Josh Reynolds 117th.
The need was there for the Rams. Obviously. And Smith-Schuster feels slighted.
鈥淚t did bug me,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey definitely were looking at receivers. They lost. It鈥檚 their loss. As for me, I ended up in a better position.鈥�
Much as his athletic director at USC, Lynn Swann, did when the Steelers drafted the future Hall of Famer with 4.55 speed in the first round of the legendary 1974 draft.
鈥淗e called me to congratulate me and he said the same thing, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to love it. Great city. Great fans. It鈥檚 a really good football atmosphere. It鈥檚 good for you.'鈥�
Smith-Schuster said Swann鈥檚 call was the second that day from USC. Offensive coordinator Tee Martin 鈥� whom the Steelers had drafted in the fifth round of the 2000 draft (the year Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round) 鈥� also called. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the type of guy who鈥檒l fit into the system,鈥� Martin told him.
So far, that appears to be the case for a rookie who spent the spring trying to emulate Brown on the field and then catching 250 passes per day out of the JUGS machine off it.
Smith-Schuster ran precise routes and displayed how a young, physical receiver can show off in shorts.
鈥淛ust going up and making tough catches across the middle, making blocks, playing inside,鈥� he said, sounding a lot like a young Ward.
鈥淚 hear that a lot,鈥� Smith-Schuster said with a proud smile. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really high expectations. It also gives me the edge in having that mentality. I want to live up to that. I do want to live up to what Hines Ward has done, so for me to go in there and dig somebody out with a block, I鈥檓 not afraid.鈥�