Rudolph, Echols, Jones, Porter Jr., Howard Media Availability (Aug. 12) | Pittsburgh Steelers

Rudolph, Echols, Jones, Porter Jr., Howard Media Availability (Aug. 12) | Pittsburgh Steelers

much during this training in the right direction? Um, nothing yet, honestly. You really won’t know until the first game rolls around. You know, you get to see different people. Um, you know, training camp’s great and all, but it you never know the real test until, you know, that week one rolls around and you get to actually put it on tape. So, Rodri, you were finally on that left side on Saturday. Just how that opening drive and those, you know, first play few plays go for you guys? Uh, it was all right. Um, you know, it’s always things you can clean up here and there, but you know, for the most part, I think we’re in sync. How much more comfortable are you starting to feel on the left side or has that always been comfortable for you? Yeah, I don’t think it was ever about being comfortable. Um, you know, just the repetition, you know, just getting back used to that side. So, um, you know, that’s all it really is just for me, you know, just continuing to get reps at the left side. So, where do you feel like you guys are as an offense? I know you said that you can’t tell anything until we get out there week one, but from where you were to the start of training camp to now, how are you guys developing? I think we’re starting to gel, you know, as a, you know, just as a whole unit. Um, you know, we just got to continue to trend in the right way. Um, continue to just lock in, focus on the things we can focus on and do what we can and just continue to play football. What are some of the major coaching points you’ve been getting from Pat Meyer and others just in terms of technique or things along those lines? It It’s really never about the technique. It’s always about the the fight, you know. Um that’s all he ever wants to see. Um finishing plays, even if you’re not doing the right thing, always just making sure you’re getting hands on somebody and finishing um finishing around the pile, you know, little things like that. Um that that’s all he really instills in us, you know, around this time right now because we got so many young guys, so many rookies coming in that that’s still trying to find their way. So, um you know, we just try and continue to help them. So, so as a So, as a group, what do you got to take from the coach today? The as a group, what do you guys take from that then? Uh, like I said, you know, um I feel like we’re starting to gel. Um we just got to continue to get those reps in and continue to form as one. As you get ready for the season, you know, from the start of training camp until the first regular season game, what milestones do you look for throughout so that you can just consistency? That’s it. consistency, you know, that that’s that’s all football is about, you know, consistency. Um, so if you’re able to be consistent in this sport, you know, you’ll be all right. What’s your comfortability like with Rogers now after season? Um, I think we’re still we’re still figuring it out. Um, but for the most part, like I said, football is football at the end of the day. They can put coach C back there. I’m going still had to do my job and block for him. So Aaron says that he has an open door policy. Some receivers are taking advantage of that. The dorm stopping by. Are you guys on the O line also swinging by? It it’s it’s it’s honestly hard because you’re always just running around and you always just run into people. Um even if it’s in the cafeteria or yesterday how we had our home run derby. Um you know we got tents up there. Guys always sitting around. So you know it’s not hard to run into people around here. Um you don’t you don’t have to go looking for them or anything like that. So I think that’s the plus about it. You know what at the home run derby go how did you hit? Oh I didn’t participate. I was a first baseman. I couldn’t hit a lick. So, who shocked you? Who shocked me? Honestly, nobody really ever shocks me unless they’re just going the yard every time. Um, that’s really the the biggest thing about it. Um, it’s really just about the camaraderie um aspect of it. So, you expect the kicker to win it though? The kickers won it before. So, you can’t you can’t put it past anybody. Yeah, you guys head back to Pittsburgh. You have a joint practice on Thursday. For you specifically, what are the benefits of those joint practices? That see that’s now that’s what more so of what I’m looking for being able to go against somebody else um that you don’t get to see every day and you know really putting what you what you know out there on display and you know seeing what you can really do. By by the end of the season when we talk to you, what will you be looking for that tells you that you and the Steelers had a successful season? You accomplished what you want to in terms of growth and development? consistency, you know, um from just the offense, not even me speaking for myself, but just as a whole, um we just got to continue to be consistent um day in and day out, game in and game out, and you know, everybody just being on the same page. Joey, just a joint practice on Thursday. What are you most looking forward to in that practice? Going against Mike Evans. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that I’m excited for that. You know, I’ve been watching him for a long time, so now I get to go against him at practice. I’m excited for that. How much of a benefit are joint practices? I mean, obviously you can see the tangible stuff, but what other parts of it are really beneficial for you guys? Just going against new players. I feel like everybody, we kind of get tired of going against each other, beating up on each other, so it’s a different team with a different jersey, so we get to beat up on them for a little bit. So, I feel like everybody’s excited for that. Are joint matches more beneficial than a preseason game for you guys? Um, I don’t know. This is this is going to be my second one. I I enjoyed the one last year with the Bills. I learned a lot from it. So hopefully I can learn a lot from this one with the Bucks. What have you learned about the kind of versatility of the secondary? Just you guys have had some injuries with the quarterbacks. It seems like there’s a lot of interchangeable pieces. Yeah, I feel like um it’s really up to our coaches really. I give it to my our coaches because they’re teaching us to be more expandable and play all different types of roles and they give us the capabilities of doing that. So it’s just them trusting us being able to switch up roles and the guys executing. It also seems like this group has kind of a special chemistry. Do you feel that? Yeah, definitely. You know, those those are my those are my guys, everybody in there. So, like Elen with Jaylen and Darius coming in, the OGs, you know, we always crack jokes. They’re good. They’re good uh good teammates to have. How much does doing a destination camp here at St. Vincent kind of help you guys build that team chemistry? Um that’s that was one of the main reasons coach always tell us why we’re up here is for that team chemistry that bonding you know not going back home after the day ends you know just spending time with each other in the dorm room kind of giving that college vibe and it does honestly every year so I mean all the guys are excited for that and just building that connection. Do you think they’re going to play at all on Saturday or I have no clue. I have no clue. Are you guys good for Yeah. For you guys as a defense just how do you feel you’ve made progress? What progress do you feel like you’ve made up to this point? Uh other than like being exchange being uh able to play different parts of the defense and everybody being exchangeable. Uh I feel like our communication has been uh top-notch for us and that’s really the main thing we’ve been pushing just communication and be able to uh make plays out there and not play too textbook. What’s it been like for you since? I mean it it sucks, you know, um the every every ounce of me wants to be out there, you know, playing and I’m just kind of sitting here doing nothing. It it kills me. Um especially on something, you know, as as if what felt like dumb to me, you know, it was just a a freak accident. Um but, you know, things happen and uh it’s about how you respond to it and uh and how you handle the adversity. like, you know, I wish I could go back and change it and, you know, I wish I could be out there playing, but the fact of the matter is it happened and, you know, I got to continue to stay locked in and um and make sure I’m still on my stuff and locked in during meetings and during practice and still getting all the mental reps because this time is still important for me. You know, although I’m not getting the physical reps, I need to continue getting the mental reps if I want to, you know, continue on the trajectory that I was on. And I felt like, you know, I was doing well. So, I need to continue to to make steps and make strides even though I can’t necessarily do it physically out there. Um, but I’m just trying to trying to maximize every day and and make the best of it. How exactly did it happen? What’s that? How exactly did it happen? It was just a quarterback center exchange. Went went a little wrong. It was just a freak accident. Jam my finger up so bad it broke. Did you get stepped on or did No. Okay. No, it’s quarterback center exchange. Did you know when it happened that it was this serious or did you think you could just kind of shake it off? No, I mean it was like during a I think it was during a team run period and um you know I I took the snap and I just felt like I jammed my finger real bad and I I played the next two plays like I threw a ball with it didn’t feel right and then I it was really when I went to the next indie period was I couldn’t really grab the ball and I was like all right I think something’s kind of messed up here you know it didn’t feel right you know I can can normally tolerate pain pretty well but that was it I literally like could not grip the football so I knew something was something was messed up so then we came up got it checked out. You know, it it’s it is what it is. So, we’ll I mean, we’re hoping it hoping I can get back soon, but we’ll see. I don’t I don’t I still don’t know. Did you have surgery on it or No, no surgery. No surgery. Have you ever had finger injury before? I’ve had hand you I broke my wrist, but that was in high school, but never this. Never this. First time. Well, I’m curious. Uh, you know, when your junior year of high school and you broke your arm, obviously more significant injury, but that kind of derailed some things for you. Is there anything you learned through that process that you can use now going through a different kind of injury early in your NFL career? Yeah, it’s I mean it’s hard because you know it’s it doesn’t make it suck any less you know but the fact that I have been through it um you know although it was a long time ago um did does help you know because at the end of the day like you are still a part of the team and you know for me I know I’m a a rookie but I’m still trying to be a part of this you know this journey especially this preseason with my guys that you know we are all rookies and all the young guys that are getting all these reps like it you know it hurts me that I’m not out there but I’m trying to stay as involved as I can be and you I could probably be better, you know, about staying more involved and um, you know, just trying to get as many mental reps as I possibly can. I’m trying to make that an emphasis, you know, this week because it’s easy when you have something like this happen. And I’m, you know, kind of in the mental state that I’m in, like it it sucks, you know, it’s brutal, but, you know, you got to at this point we’re professionals and you got to be a man and step up and uh and and just continue to learn and grow every day regardless of the situation. have anything? Nothing nothing other than just, you know, they’re wishing me well and um you know, everybody’s had everybody’s had um injuries and whatnot, but is it realistic at all that you could still get any get action in the preseason or do you think you’re I really I hope so. Um, you know, I I we’re just going to have to see how this how this heals. And, um, you know, I know I I defer to Coach Tomlin almost that stuff. And, um, you know, I’m still just taking it day by day, week by week, and doing what I can to stay ready so I don’t have to get ready, you know. So, if that if that opportunity does does present itself, I’ll be ready. And, you know, I I I I just want to stay physically in shape and and, you know, I I would love an opportunity to get out there. And, you know, we we’ll see what happens. But, uh, it’s killing me not being able. I was going to say, how frustrating was it to be in Jacksonville and you’re watching the other quarterbacks do their thing. And I mean, yeah, it’s it sucks being there, not being able to play, but I was super happy for for Skyler and Mason because I felt like they both played really really well. And I was, you know, super happy for, you know, Max Hurlman and and and Keshan Williams and and Rock had a good game. And, uh, I thought the O line played really well. I think they were, you know, protecting the quarterback all night. So it, you know, all that stuff was fun to be a part of and it was fun to be on a on a sideline for my first NFL game. But yeah, it does it does suck. You know, it doesn’t, you know, as much as I’m trying to be a good teammate and pump my brothers up. Like, you know, it I’m trying as hard as I can to not be bugged by this a ton, but you know, it does suck. You know, the competitor me would, you know, tear my left off arm off if I could go back in there, you know. So, what are you doing in terms of classroom walk? [Music] Yeah, I mean I think the the biggest thing is, you know, out there I’m still trying to walk through the reps that I would have in practice and, you know, I think Tom’s done a really good job of helping me with that. Um, and, you know, it’s been kind of a hybrid week with the preseason game, so that was a little different on like how do I get mental reps, getting ready for that. Um, but you know, still trying to approach things like I’m going to play in the practice room and I’m I’m going to play, you know, in the game. I I want to still make sure I approach things the right way. And um, and, you know, I think the the I mean, the the classroom is pretty much the same for me. Like, I wouldn’t say it’s, you know, I’m definitely still watching film and I’m still, you know, analyzing things like I would be if I was out there, but, you know, the walkthrough aspect has to become more and, you know, walking through the plays that I would have and and mentally going through it out on the field or in my room. um you know just like I would be you know taking a rep because even sometimes just thinking through it you know it’s not necessarily the same but it’s

Mason Rudolph, Brandin Echols, Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr. and Will Howard speak to the media

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