PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison, Jack Lambert and Antonio Brown top the list as the Steelers have a run of good results from the Mid-American Conference. Now another will get an opportunity to prove it’s not where you went to college, but what you do in the NFL.
Western Michigan linebacker Robert Spillane, had a really good junior year with 111 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 3 interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles. His senior year, there was a dip in nearly every category and Spillane ended up undrafted.
The now 25-year-old started as a practice player with the Titans then released just two months into his career. Spillane would watch the rest of that season and signed with the Steelers in February of 2019. Spent half of that year on the practice squad and then in 2020 the big break, taking advantage of the Devin Bush injury to start seven consecutive games before an injury himself.
Finished with 45 tackles overall in 2020, 39 solo, a pick six, fumble recovery, three tackles for loss and Spillane led the team in tackles in the playoff game against Cleveland.
“I look to continue to improve as everyone on this team does,” Spillane said of this season. “You find things in your game you can improve on. Having that experience, that film from last year, I can look at things and decide if it’s something I need to clean up or something that I do well and want to do better.”
Spillane met with the coaching staff after the year and while he doesn’t know the division of labor between himself and Vince Williams, who re-signed to stay for less money, opposite of Devin Bush. He knows what to work on.
“Coach Tomlin mentioned how he liked my underneath coverage as a linebacker in our post-year meetings and my blitzing abilities,” Spillane said. “He said that’s what you do well that I want to focus on doing even better next year.”
He’s known as one of the team’s best coverage linebackers and if he can improve in a few other areas, it will likely be hard to take him off the field.
“Continue to take from where I left off last season,” Spillane said. “I want to show the team that I can be a pass rusher. A viable blitzer and get home to the quarterback in rush and coverage downs.”
Considering the loss of blitzer Mike Hilton and edge rusher Bud Dupree, they will need Spillane to find the quarterback to continue their success.