Aug 5, 2017 5 min read

LATROBE – Seemingly after every route he ran at practice Saturday, rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Shuster would head back to the huddled mass of players and coaches behind the line of scrimmage to speak to the guy wearing a floppy hat and long-sleeved Steelers shirt.

After practice, the two continued to work on the field, running sprints and catching passes together.

For Smith-Shuster, the Steelers’ second-round pick in this year’s draft, the opportunity to pick the brain of the team’s all-time leading receiver, Hines Ward, has been just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

“He’s a guy who’s done this and I want to follow in his footsteps,” said Smith-Shuster. “That’s what I’ve been doing the past couple of days. Actions speak louder than words.”

At just 20 years old, Smith-Shuster was still in diapers when the 41-year-old Ward, back in Pittsburgh as a coaching intern, began his playing days with the Steelers.

But the relationship those two are forming at training camp at Saint Vincent College is hardly unique.

Take a look around on any given practice day and you’ll see Ike Taylor talking to the defensive backs. Or Kendall Simmons and Alan Faneca speaking with the offensive linemen. Or Mark Bruener having a word with one of the tight ends.

And that doesn’t even take into account former Steelers Joey Porter, Jerry Olsavsky and Carnell Lake, who are all full-time members of the coaching staff.

Some of the Steelers alumni are invited back as coaching or scouting interns, while others, such as Bruener, a full-time scout for the team, have been hired after spending time in one of those internships.

Head coach Mike Tomlin recognizes the impact it can have on his current players when they get an opportunity to meet and get to know players who were big parts of the team’s past.

“It’s an awesome thing we have going with some of our alumni players,” Tomlin said. “I’m fortunate enough to have coached a lot of those guys, whether it’s Hines, or Ike or Kendall Simmons or Alan Faneca. We embrace the tradition of Steelers football. It’s just great to see the history be shared from older to younger. It’s really just one of the interesting things, having been here, to watch those relationships develop.

“They grew up on them.”

The interesting thing is that some of the players continue to keep in close contact with the Steelers, even if things didn’t end quite so well for them as players in Pittsburgh.

Tomlin’s first move when he became head coach in 2007 was to release Porter, a star on the 2005 Super Bowl team. Six years later, after Porter finished his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, Tomlin hired Porter to coach the outside linebackers.

Bruener, Faneca and Simmons have similar tales.

A first-round pick, Bruener was released in a salary cap-related move in 2003, and he played his final five seasons with the Houston Texans.

Even after leaving, he remained close with the organization that had once made the always memorable call to him on draft night to tell him he was going to be an NFL player.

“On the flip side, I had my first phone call from an organization telling me they were going to release me. That was by the Steelers, as well,” Bruener said. “It just shows how fickle this game can be. But it also shows how unique our organization is because they saw I could help contribute to our success and how fortunate I was to get that second phone call, because you never want to end on a bad note.”

The retired players have that as motivation. They also care about what happens to the organization.

Helping the young players create a legacy of their own is a part of that.

And the young guys know enough to listen to what the former players have to offer.

“The way he blocked, they had to change the rules,” said Smith-Shuster of Ward, with whom his style of play has drawn comparisons. “Coming from a guy like that and knowing what he meant to the organization just motivates me to come out and play harder.”

Tomlin was somewhat cryptic regarding an injury to cornerback Artie Burns. Burns left Friday night’s practice with an undisclosed injury. He did not practice Saturday but was present with ice bags on both knees. “He got examined today. I haven’t gotten an update yet. Just visiting with him, he seems to be in good spirits. Hopefully, it’s minor.” … With Burns, Senquez Golson and Cameron Sutton out, the Steelers were short at the cornerback position. They signed former Philadelphia Eagles corner JaCorey Shepherd and released defensive end Nelson Adams. … The Steelers will hold Family Fest today at Heinz Field, where they also will practice at 6:30 p.m. There will be a number of family-oriented activities available throughout the day in and around the stadium and practice is open to the public. Cost is $10 and tickets can be purchased at Steelers.com or at the gates.