Rudolph & Harmon Press Conference (Preseason Week 2 vs Buccaneers) | Pittsburgh Steelers

Derek, can you walk us through that sack and and that bull rush uh that you executed there? Um really just playing within the defense. Uh trying to do my best to help the team out best of my ability. Derek, how do you feel like you progressed from the first preseason game to this one? Confidence building. Anything change? Yeah, man. Um, week one was kind of rough for me, but um, I took a big, not a big jump, but I just more trusted my abilities in the second game and um, still a lot of work to do in the back end, man. Uh, still a lot of work far as me individually and the team. So, it’s ready to get back to work. It seemed like you got your hands quickly up on your defenders, helped you establish your leverage. Was that part of what you felt was a little bit different this week or was there some other part of you think just you felt was sharper? Um, yeah, you hit on no just playing with my long arms. Um, I got long arms, so just playing with that consistently and um, doing the best of my ability at the end of the day. You think the defensive front did better moving the line of scrimmage back than last week, it seemed like, especially in the first half, you guys made a few plays in the back field? Yeah. Um, like I said, we um, just trying to get better every week, man. Um, something Cam said, um, don’t make the same mistakes this week, just get better. Um, make new mistakes and little things like that. So, um, like Coach T always says, make make new make new mistakes, don’t make the same mistakes. So, that’s what we going to do. Derek, you showed you showed a lot of emo you showed a lot of emotion there uh with the sack. What’s going through your head there? Um first sack as a rookie, man, it felt good. Um it’s the preseason, so um just ready to get that one in regular season. That’s it, Jar. How has that relationship grown with Keanu and how do you guys feel like you you mesh on the field together? Um Keano, that’s my man, man. Uh we be vibing outside of the uh outside of football. um just to learn him as a person and he learned me as a person. So that vibe was very nice. Anything else? Yeah, Derek, you were two weeks ago when the depth start came out, you were the only rookie you listed in the starting lineup. Is there pressure that comes with that? Um yeah, most definitely. Um could be being a firstrounder, being um automatic start as a rookie. Yeah. But I feel like pressure make diamonds. So that’s how I look at it. What’s your impression first impression of Steelers fans in the home environment uh and playing defense while they’re being allowed here? Uh it was beautiful, man. It was real beautiful. Kind of took me back to Oregon a little bit how how loud they was out there. So, it was beautiful to have all the fans be home finally. What did the fellow defensive lineman think of Logan Lee’s long snapping? Oh my god. At first, I didn’t know Logan Lee was out there then once um Coach Denzel told me like, “Yeah, that’s Logan. Oh my god.” But I see him at practice before practice working on his snaps. So, it’s no surprise. Anyone else? What’s something that you’re looking right now? Like, you know, I know you’re just fresh out of your second preseason game, but what’s something that you’re looking forward to saying, “Hey, I want to do this in my third preseason game.” Not really. Just being consistent, man. I got to stay consistent. Just get better every week. That’s my main goal right now. Keep getting better. Um, keep getting these reps in and like I said, just keep getting better every week. Is there an area of your game you feel like has progressed from like say rookie mini camp to now that that has progressed more than than other parts of your game? Um, like I said earlier, playing my extension a lot more. Um, this game I feel like I did that um and really getting off blocks a little quicker. So anyone when Mikelin says you have heavy hands, what does what does that mean? But um I mean just I’m a big guy with some 4x hands so just got to put them on people and put them paws on people. All right, thanks D. Thanks coming in right uh walk us through that deep ball that you connected with Rome and how you seen him grow through camp in his second year. Yeah, it was great. It was a great catch by Rome. Um, yeah, I mean, he he’s he’s been very dependable over over the over camp. Um, we threw him a couple balls last week in Jacksonville, so you can tell he he’s just um I know it killed him having to sit out all last year with the injury, and he is um extremely hungry to get out there, make plays, and and prove himself. And I think he’s he’s he’s definitely done that. Have you noticed something about his game that gets him open a little bit faster? you’re just able to see like, okay, he’s getting off the ball a little bit quicker even from the start of training camp. I mean, I wasn’t with him last year, so I can’t compare and contrast. Um, but I think he’s uh, you know, from the first day we threw this past spring, he he’s an explosive guy, very quick off the line, great releases, um, and he’s got good hands. So, he, uh, he’s locked into to Arthur’s offense right now and to our offense, and he’s doing a good job digesting all the concepts. Mason, after first off, you could take me through the pick, but then I’m sure you hated the throw. Just ask you how it went for you after that, how determined you were to do exactly what you did. Yeah. Um uh DB made a good play. I was I was a little bit late to the scene and he just over overlapped in cover three and made a good play and um I got to either be quicker to the seam or or or check check the ball down. So, but yeah, I was um you know, that happens in in the course of a year, in the course of games, even early in the games, you got to, you know, uh mentally recover from that and go back out. And I was I was happy with the way we moved the ball down the field, roam on the on the chunk play to get us in the scoring in the score zone and uh we finished it off. Mason, how much have you seen the first team offensive line kind of grow as camp has gone on? What what have you seen from them? Yeah, they’ve been great. Great. They’ve been uh a joy to work with. Um you know, Frasier McCormack, two young guys, but Spencer Anderson as well, but but um great communication, real really um gritty bluecollar lunch pale guys that are uh fun to go to work with and they’re um yeah, they’re they uh they’ve played well in camp. They’ve been healthy, which is important. they’ve been available and um it’s it’s that that unit continues to to mesh. Take a moment to allow the applause to sink in for you as you ran out for the first play that you’re back here for the first time since that Cincinnati game two years ago. Yeah. Uh it was great. It was u a lot of great memories here and so thankful to be back in such a great organization and so yeah. Yeah. No, I definitely uh I definitely enjoyed uh running back out of that tunnel with with this team and being uh being in black and gold and having some fun out there. You look calm and collected uh running away from Vay. Did you feel calm and collected? Uh I think I’m I must be a good actor because he’s Vita is he’s a big human being and uh you know definitely had the heart rate up a little bit but uh offensive line did a great job and sort of giving me a lane to escape. So M I’m sorry somebody asked you um is Roman Wilson becoming a more uh viable threat in the past game? Absolutely. Absolutely. He’s he’s been great. He’s um I just said he commented on how hungry he’s been and and um he he he probably would have played the whole game tonight if he if he could. Anyone else? What can you say about how Scotty Miller has performed this camp in preseason? Yeah, really well. Uh he’s a veteran guy that’s um sneaky like maybe one of the top two fastest guys on the team and assignment sound, knows what he’s doing all the time, can play different positions. He’s just a really great, you know, a guy you can trust when you’re out there. Mason, can you feel Caleb Johnson starting to settle in to being a pro? I can. Yeah, I think um I think uh you saw some streaks, some flashes last week. Uh probably a lot of nerves in anyone’s first first game. Uh but he he man, he he ran it well tonight. Uh as well as 35. My man Lou did a great job uh toting the rock. So great to see that from both of them. Anyone else? Thank you guys.

Mason Rudolph speaks to the media about the Steelers matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2 of the 2025 Preseason.

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