Heyward makes an impression

If Cameron Heyward is as impressive on the field as he was during his introductory news conference Friday the Steelers will have hit big on another first-round pick.
Heyward said all of the right things and did not get flustered when he got asked a bush question by a TV reporter -– a reporter, it should be pointed, who is rarely ever at the Steelers practice facility.
The question started as praise for the late Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, but it ended with Cameron Heyward getting what he thought about his father’s “tendency to get into trouble.”
The query left Steelers coach Mike Tomlin fuming but Heyward handled it like a pro.
“I think my dad made some bad decisions in the past but I learned a lot from that,” Heyward said. “Having that growing up and seeing what my mother dealt with it made me think that I don’t want to put anyone through that. Through his mistakes he was also a great man, and I think a lot of people understand that when you meet him.”
A quick comment about the question: Heyward will have to answer similar ones during his NFL career, and they are out of bounds. But in this case it was a classic case of wrong place, wrong time.
Heyward answered a number of other questions after the Steelers presented him with a No. 1 jersey and president Art Rooney II introduced him. Here are some excepts from his Q&A:

Q: What was your initial reaction when the Steelers picked you? Did you think they were going to take you?
A: “Coach Tomlin and a couple of other guys had told guys around me like my position coach and my mom, ‘If he’s there I’ll take him.’ But you don’t want to play into that. You’re going through the draft and I wanted to go to Pittsburgh so bad. I was looking at my phone and thinking don’t ring until the Steelers pick me. Luckily it worked out. My grandparents, all my extended family is from here. The chance to come back home and play for this team it’s a great honor. It’s a chance for me to compete for these guys and a chance to get better and learn from guys like Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith and Ziggy Hood. I look forward to taking knowledge from those guys, guys that have been here.”

Q: Did other teams show interest?
A: “A lot of teams showed interest so it was tough to gauge it. I always had a No. 1 next to Steelers. There chance to play for this team just means the world to me.”
http://blog.triblive.com/view-from-the-press-box/2011/04/29/making-an-impression/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+triblive%2Fblog%2FViewFromThePressBox+%28View+from+the+Press+Box+Blog%29

This guy sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders. I like him more and more.

Great stuff, Ziggy and Cameron are going to own the line for quite some time.

i kind of questioned the pick at first but then i thought about what we had behind ziggy and i couldnt come up with anything

vasteeler wrote:

i kind of questioned the pick at first but then i thought about what we had behind ziggy and i couldnt come up with anything

Unfortunately Smith and Keisel aren't getting any younger either....