PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was the look after making a 42-yard catch in the first quarter Saturday, receiver Roman Wilson was on his knees and looked up to the sky as if to say ‘finally’.
“It was a great catch by Roman,” said quarterback Mason Rudolph. “He’s been very dependable over camp. I threw him a couple of balls against Jacksonville. I know it killed him having to sit out all last year with the injury. He is extremely hungry to get out there and make plays and prove himself. I think he’s definitely done that.”
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Expectations were high when the Steelers drafted Wilson. He had just finished a national championship season with Michigan, crushing career highs with 48 catches for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns. Or put another way, 25% of his receptions went for scores including a TD in the national semi-final game.
As a rookie, he went out with an injury early in training camp last year and it never clicked. This year he discussed just focusing on every single day. Treating every day like its game day, every practice like it was game day. He wanted to be mentally and physically locked in every day. He also came with more questions to the coaching staff and seemed to have better answers.
“From the first day we threw, he’s an explosive guy, very quick off the line, great releases and he’s got good hands,” Rudolph said. “He’s locked in to our offense. He’s done a good job digesting all the concepts.”
Along with the 42-yard catch against Tampa Bay on Saturday, he also had a 30-yard reception, this one was from Skylar Thompson as the first was with Rudolph.
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Mike Tomlin said there is an opportunity with Calvin Austin missing the last couple of weeks because of injury. Wilson showed up in a stadium Saturday night, two catches for 72 yards, his best day as a Steeler.
“He’s had a good camp and he’s back that up with quality in-stadium play,” Tomlin said. “Feel good about the overall trajectory of him, but we got another game and that time is critical for a young guy. He’s got to keep his foot on the gas.”