polamalubeast
08-07-2016, 09:50 AM
Not many players on the Steelers in recent years were held in higher regard by their teammates than Kelvin Beachum.
Not many veteran Steelers are more reluctant than Cameron Heyward to compliment a rookie all that much.
Those facts are what made Heyward's praise of rookie offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins so noteworthy Saturday.
“I think of him almost as a taller Beachum,” said Heyward, who as the Steelers' starting left defensive end has matched up often against Hawkins during training camp. “Just the way he's got long arms. That's not to say you're ‘Beach,' because that's a helluva statement. I'm not saying he's there yet. But he's got tools where he could learn to be like that.”
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Hawkins has been getting reps primarily as the second-team right tackle through the first eight practices of training camp.
A fourth-round pick brought in, in part, to help replace Beachum after the former starting left tackle departed via free agency, Hawkins hasn't at all looked out of place. And why should he after starting all 37 games he played over three seasons at LSU, a program that not only plays a brutal schedule against numerous future NFL players (think: Alabama defensive linemen) but also plays a pro-style offense.
read more
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/10922328-74/hawkins-steelers-rookie
Not many veteran Steelers are more reluctant than Cameron Heyward to compliment a rookie all that much.
Those facts are what made Heyward's praise of rookie offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins so noteworthy Saturday.
“I think of him almost as a taller Beachum,” said Heyward, who as the Steelers' starting left defensive end has matched up often against Hawkins during training camp. “Just the way he's got long arms. That's not to say you're ‘Beach,' because that's a helluva statement. I'm not saying he's there yet. But he's got tools where he could learn to be like that.”
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Hawkins has been getting reps primarily as the second-team right tackle through the first eight practices of training camp.
A fourth-round pick brought in, in part, to help replace Beachum after the former starting left tackle departed via free agency, Hawkins hasn't at all looked out of place. And why should he after starting all 37 games he played over three seasons at LSU, a program that not only plays a brutal schedule against numerous future NFL players (think: Alabama defensive linemen) but also plays a pro-style offense.
read more
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/10922328-74/hawkins-steelers-rookie