Golson: 'It's time to crank it up'

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Golson: 'It's time to crank it up'

Teresa Varley
Steelers.com



In just a few weeks the Steelers will take the field for OTAs, the first big step in their offseason program. In addition to all of the newcomers to the roster this offseason, there will be one player in particular that many eyes will be on, cornerback Senquez Golson.

Golson, the Steelers’ No. 2 draft pick in 2015, missed the entire season after suffering a shoulder injury during the team’s offseason program last year.

But a year later, he is ready to go and for the team it’s like having a bonus draft pick this year, a young player they haven’t seen a lot from yet on the field, but are anxious to see develop.

"We are excited about getting Senquez Golson back in the mix,” said Coach Mike Tomlin earlier this offseason. “I think oftentimes he is forgotten about. We were excited about him a year ago when we drafted him. I still share that same level of excitement. I can’t wait to get him back on the field."

“It’s time for me to crank it up full speed,” said Golson. “After they released our schedule, it motivated me even more. I started dedicating myself 100 percent to football. We know the schedule, know the opponents. It’s time to go to work.

“I can’t wait for everything, for OTAs, minicamp, training camp. I am definitely ready to get out there. I need the reps, I need as many reps as I can. That will help me get that normal feeling back.”

It was a tough year for him, being sidelined, watching his teammates practice and play, and adjusting to the NFL as a spectator. The feelings, let’s just say they were anything but normal.

“At first when you are injured, you kind of go through the phase of where do we go from here,” said Golson. “Then you could say most rookies hit the rookie wall. My rookie wall was a little bit different. You could probably call it depression as far as trying to figure everything out. I had to figure out ways to get better off the field. I had to figure out Pittsburgh on my own. I had help and support from the coaches and the staff, but you come in and aren’t playing. I never reached out for the help. I think my rookie year, I am glad it happened. I got to see a lot of things. I think I would have missed some of that if I had played.”

For Golson, a player who when he first arrived in Pittsburgh last year said, ‘I could play football every day,’ was suddenly facing the reality of not playing for a year and it wasn’t a welcome feeling.

“It wasn’t a good feeling,” said Golson. “I have never been away from the game. To sum it up, it was like a bad divorce for me.

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