BlackAndGold
06-16-2016, 04:59 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The way players recall it, Mike Tomlin teased that Ryan Shazier wasn't among the 10 fastest Pittsburgh Steelers, so linebacker Vince Williams told him Shazier was indeed the fastest.
That exchanged prompted the foot race that hyped the locker room last week. Shazier, a 240-pound linebacker, outran receivers Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates in the 40 by a convincing margin.
"I just know a lot of people respect my speed now," said Shazier, who added that Darrius Heyward-Bey is the undisputed speedster on the team. "Some might be scared to race [me now]."
Shazier's "certified freak" status widens the potential for a breakout performance in his third NFL season. When healthy, Shazier is the prototypical linebacker for today's NFL. He has the speed to cover receivers and tight ends downfield, the quick burst to rush the passer and the willingness to shoot a rushing gap for a tackle at the line of scrimmage.
The Shazier experiment has taken time to launch. Injuries forced him to miss a combined 11 games in 2014-15 and 2015-16. As a rookie, Shazier was sometimes in the wrong spots while trying to force a big play.
Read More: http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/19189/steelers-lb-ryan-shazier-has-all-pro-speed-but-wants-all-pro-results
That exchanged prompted the foot race that hyped the locker room last week. Shazier, a 240-pound linebacker, outran receivers Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates in the 40 by a convincing margin.
"I just know a lot of people respect my speed now," said Shazier, who added that Darrius Heyward-Bey is the undisputed speedster on the team. "Some might be scared to race [me now]."
Shazier's "certified freak" status widens the potential for a breakout performance in his third NFL season. When healthy, Shazier is the prototypical linebacker for today's NFL. He has the speed to cover receivers and tight ends downfield, the quick burst to rush the passer and the willingness to shoot a rushing gap for a tackle at the line of scrimmage.
The Shazier experiment has taken time to launch. Injuries forced him to miss a combined 11 games in 2014-15 and 2015-16. As a rookie, Shazier was sometimes in the wrong spots while trying to force a big play.
Read More: http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/19189/steelers-lb-ryan-shazier-has-all-pro-speed-but-wants-all-pro-results