PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It seems fitting if Damar Hamlin would do a jersey swap after his first game back at Acrisure Stadium following cardiac arrest last year, it would be with his old Pitt teammate, now Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. That is indeed what happened, but he intended his jersey to go to someone who didn’t even play in the game Saturday.
Hamlin said the stadium smelled the same as when he starred at Pitt. He saw his old Panthers coaches-Pat Narduzzi, Archie Collins and Cory Sanders before the game. He felt the same energy. The McKees Rocks native said it took him back to when he was on the chase and hungry.
There were even cheers when he made the first of his three tackles.
“They care about me,” Hamlin said. “That’s why I try to do everything I can to make my city a better place. Pittsburgh is truly my home and will always be my home.”
As for why he didn’t want to give the jersey to Pickett. It has nothing to do with being on opposing sides or anything with Kenny. Pickett said he has a lot of great memories with Hamlin and said it’s cool that what they talked about in college has come true for them.
It’s just that Hamlin wanted to honor someone he’s admired for years, even before he became a Pitt Panther.
“I really wanted to give it to Coach Tomlin,” Hamlin said. “(Because of) How much he’s meant to this city. To see what culture he brought to the City of Pittsburgh.”
“Him allowing us to be so close to him when I was at Pitt, meant a lot to me. It really shaped my vision for myself of how I wanted to go about becoming a pro.”
Hamlin said there were times after he would finish a practice at Pitt, Tomlin would allow him to be on the sidelines and watch them work. If he wasn’t on the field studying what the pros did, Hamlin would sit up on the balcony. He’d have his lunch while watching Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell early in his college career. He said how Tomlin goes about his work truly represents the region well and Hamlin is a Pittsburgh kid at heart.
“He means a lot to me and the City of Pittsburgh,” Hamlin said. “Onetime, last year, I was back at Pitt in the summertime. I told him, ‘Coach, I never played for you, but you mean a lot to me’. Just watching him, how he interacts with his team.”
“He never shied away, never tried to put himself on a pedestal. It was all open arms and open hands.”
“Coach Tomlin will always hold a special place in my heart.”