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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expressed his wishes for rookie running back Kaleb Johnson ahead of facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After Tomlin revealed two injured pass catchers amid preseason, wide receiver Calvin Austin and tight end Jonnu Smith are day-to-day following their respective injuries. He spoke about what he expects from Johnson.
Tomlin addressed Johnson's outlook against the Buccaneers.
“I just want to see him trust himself more,” said Tomlin. “I want to see him play more instinctually, trust his talents. That's reasonable to expect between the first experience and the second experience.”
Johnson explained how he's feeling more comfortable in his new surroundings. As a rookie, Johnson is acclimating to his first NFL preseason.
“I'm more comfortable,” said Johnson. “Getting out there last time, just getting my feet wet and getting used to the new atmosphere and stuff like that. So, it should be better. It just comes to me being comfortable and going out there and doing what I need to do.”
Tomlin wants to see Johnson less hesitant as he adapts to the NFL.
“Yeah, I was running a little bit timid,” said Johnson. “Just trying to get the feel of it, the feel of a little different flow of the offense.”
In his preseason debut, Johnson ran for 20 yards on eight carries in the Steelers' 31-25 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Little details matter, every little detail matters,” said Johnson. “If you mess up a little bit on the detail, it can mess the whole game and throw you off. So, I've just got to be detailed on everything I do.”
Mike Tomlin makes ‘historic' prediction for Steelers' defense
While gearing up for the 2025 NFL season, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has big expectations for his defense. The veteran head coach didn't hold back in his predictions for how dominant his defense will be this upcoming season. While adding a handful of young players during the offseason, he's confident in their capabilities.
Tomlin is adamant that the Steelers' defense will have a historic impact this upcoming season, per NBC Sports.
“We feel really good about the prospects of this group. We do,” Tomlin said, according to NBC Sports. “We’ve got to write that story. We’ve got enough talent, we’ve got enough schematics to do big, big things. When I say big things, I’m talking about historic things.”
The Steelers will host the Buccaneers on Saturday.
