Wide receivers catching balls fired from a JUGS machine is a common sight at any NFL training camp practice.

It’s no different for Pittsburgh Steelers pass catchers, who get their daily share of the work on the JUGS at Saint Vincent College.

It’s just that this summer the wide receivers have some company. Defensive backs are joining in and working on their technique at the behest of new senior defensive assistant Teryl Austin.

“That’s mandated by me,” Austin said. “Every day we are going to be on the JUGS machine. We’re going to catch balls before or after practice. This is not a choice. You have a choice of time, but not a choice of whether you are going to do it.”

Austin expects his cornerbacks and safeties to catch 15-20 balls daily while the JUGS machine is being used on the field. That’s the price the Steelers defensive backs have to pay following a season in which the team tied a franchise-low with eight interceptions. In addition, only two teams had fewer takeaways in 2018 than the Steelers, who finished with 15.

“We’re not there just to knock the ball down or bat it up in the air,” Austin said. “We want to try to catch it and turn it over because those are big in terms of helping our defense.”


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