Steelers rookie tight end Connor Heyward is getting his first taste of Training Camp and so far Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been pleased with his play, calling him “highly competitive.”
But his older brother is holding off on the high praise, at least for now.
Speaking before the Steelers first practice of camp in pads on Monday, the older Heyward said, “not good enough, but good, but not good enough” when talking about his brother.
The younger Heyward spoke after and said “I don’t want a lot of praise from him,” adding that he expects a lot from himself and his brother also expects a lot.
And while having your older brother on the team can bring some added pressure, especially since he’s the captain of the defense, it also comes with some perks.
For example, Connor says he didn’t have to worry about his massage therapist and uses the same one has Cam.
“I’m getting a lot of advice on how to recover and how to take care of your body . . . I’m appreciative for my brother to help me with that,” said Connor.
Heyward, who filled a lot of roles at Michigan State has been mainly working with the tight ends but says he is open and willing to do whatever the coaches want him to do.
He says he has met with running backs coach Eddie Faulkner once, but so far, it’s mainly been with the tight ends.
There was a scary moment for Heyward on the final practice last week when he went down after a Terrell Edmunds stepped on his ankle.
“Everybody thought I just cut really hard, but I got stepped on,” said Heyward.
He added he wanted to get back in but coaches told him to sit out to make sure he was okay.