PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A defensive end out of the University of Houston, David Anenih went undrafted. He ended up on the Titans practice squad and now is an option to help fill the spot of TJ Watt as he was added to the Steelers 53-man roster.
The 6’3”, 249-pounder earned All-American Athletic Conference First Team as a senior. He had 31.5 tackles for loss in his Cougars career (10 last season), with 20.5 sacks (5 last season) with four forced fumbles and seven passes defended. He started at linebacker, moved to defensive end and now to outside linebacker in the NFL.
“I’m an athletic pass rusher that can get off the ball with the best of them, turn the corner,” Anenih said. “Obviously, my go-to is the chop, dip and rip. That’s me as a pass rusher.”
Anenih (pronounced ah-ninny) said the Steelers never talked to him about of college, but he knows about them. He’s aware linebackers are the glamour position with the Steelers. The Texas native got some advice from a few former Steelers before he left the Titans.
“Talked to Bud (Dupree), talked to Ola (Adeniyi) about what it’s like here, the culture,” Anenih said. “They told me it’s a really good environment. Mike Tomlin, great coach, they told me I would love it here.”
He only arrived at 9:30 Thursday morning and had just received his uniform before he was off to meetings. His locker is by Malik Reed, who recently joined the team as an outside linebacker and also an undrafted free agent out of college. He has precious few hours and practice/meeting time before kickoff on Sunday.
“Preparation, I will be here all day today,” Anenih said. “I probably won’t leave here until later tonight. I’m going to learn special teams, everything about defense and be ready for Sunday.”
It’s a Mike Tomlin cliché ‘one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity’. Couldn’t be more apt for their newest linebacker trying to find a job in the NFL.
“Got to see what happens today,” Anenih said. “Keep learning and improving every day.”