By Alan Robinson
Published: Monday, August 5, 2013, 8:36 p.m.
Updated 7 hours ago
Perhaps it's no surprise that a player with 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash didn't need much time to catch up with everyone else at training camp.
Wide receiver Markus Wheaton couldn't take part in the Steelers' spring practices because alma mater Oregon State was holding class Since he arrived at camp, though, everything has been a blur.
Especially the player wearing No. 11, one who is expected to ramp up the Steelers' overall team speed much like Mike Wallace did the last four seasons.
“He's going to be in a group with the fastest (NFL receivers),” wide receivers coach Richard Mann said Monday. “I don't know if he's going to be the fastest, but he'll be there. And what I like is he's got that quick twitch.”
Quick twitch isn't a football phrase but a medical term that refers to muscle fiber that contracts rapidly, especially during actions that require maximum effort for short periods. Such as running a 50-yard pass pattern rapidly. Such as running it the way Wheaton does.
Wheaton already has made some impressive catches during camp — he's working mostly as the slot receiver, or the No. 3 receiver — despite missing those May and June workouts.
“This kid is a smart guy who has made up a lot of the gap,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “At the time, I felt he was way behind. Now that he's here, I think he's done a great job with Coach Mann of getting up to speed so he can compete.”
Mann talked often with Wheaton, teaching him via long distance the basics of the Steelers' offense.
“I just think he's a smart kid,” Mann said. “He came here and did what he had to do to catch up. We're in the process of him learning how to do it as opposed to telling him how to do it.”
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Who going to double cover? Brown or Wheaton?
What I like about Wheaton, he's going to be able burn you deep and I believe he can run the short routes and get some RAC yardage.
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Beneath the thousand years asleep
Time demands a turnaround
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