May 26, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The hair flows out of the back of the helmet, though it is in dreadlocks rather than hanging loose on the shoulder pads.

Outside of that, the player lining up at strong safety for the Steelers on opening day of their OTAs Tuesday bore little resemblance to the player who held that position for more than a decade.

Third-year safety Shamarko Thomas knows he has big shoes to fill with former All-Pro Troy Polamalu’s retirement this offseason.

The Steelers hope Thomas’ athleticism and a healthy Mike Mitchell at free safety can offset that loss.

“It’s exciting to be working with Shamarko,” said Mitchell, who played with both of his groin muscles torn last season. “He’s a young, very hungry player. He pushes me every day. He’s a guy that’s super strong in the weight room. To try to work out with him is good. It’s motivating. He’s a very fast, explosive aggressive player. I think that will be good.”

It can’t be much worse. The Steelers ranked 27th against the pass last year.

They’ll miss the leadership and experience of Polamalu, but life doesn’t stand still. And it was time for Polamalu, who had clearly lost a step, to retire, which he did last month.

But Polamalu was still capable of making big plays because of his guile and film study.

“Like Coach (Mike) Tomlin said today, we’ve just got to believe and put forth the work,” Thomas said. “When you put forth the work … the magic happens by itself.”

Thomas has been the strong safety-in-waiting since the Steelers selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He began his rookie season playing in the nickel defense, but injuries ended that experience midway through the year.

Injuries again kept him out of the nickel defense last season, though he did manage to play in 11 games and make five special teams tackles. Though veteran Will Allen was re-signed in the offseason to compete with Thomas for the starting job, Thomas is the future for the Steelers.

Thomas approached Polamalu in 2014 about working out with the All-Pro in the offseason and learned much from that experience. He learned how to be professional in his approach to the game and how to train his body for the grind of an NFL season.

Perhaps most importantly, the past two years taught Thomas patience.

“I had a vet in front of me in Troy. He taught me a lot,” Thomnas said.

Mitchell will take over a leadership role in the secondary. Signed last year to a five-year, $25-million contract, Mitchell fought through the painful groin tears to play in every game, though he admits that might not have been the best course of action.

“I tried to do what I could for the team. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision, but I was able to play 16 games,” said Mitchell, who injured his groin in training camp.

“Troy missed some time. It’s hard enough playing without one of our starters, having both of them out was probably not an option. Our training staff did a great job and the coaching staff did a great job working with me all year and I was able to tough it out. We all play with injuries, so I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.”

But with Mitchell healthy and Thomas in place, it’s almost as if the Steelers have two new starting safeties.

“We can’t tell you what we’re going to be or what we can do. We’re just out here practicing,” said Thomas. “We’re putting forth the work. The intent is to be great, so that’s what we’re working toward.

The Steelers had perfect attendance at Tuesday’s session, the first of four weeks of workouts in which 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. … The Steelers worked on two-point conversions on their opening team portion of the practice, a nod to the NFL’s new rule that moves extra-point kicks back to the 15-yard line.