When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Devin Bush in April, there were talks about him playing the same role that Ryan Shazier had before he went down with his devastating injury. Bush played in his first preseason game last week, and for Mike Tomlin, the debut reminded him of Shazier's just a few years ago.
“I thought it was a very solid performance,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Really [it was] kind of reminiscent of Ryan Shazier’s performance in his first home preseason game a number of years ago in terms of production and getting around and making a number of plays.”
Tomlin has never been a coach to prop up his young guys, instead making them earn it on the field, so these comments are even more surprising.
In the 2014 game that Tomlin is referring to, Shazier had 11 tackles and an interception. In last week's game, Bush racked up 10 tackles and was flying all over the field.
After the game, Bush was asked about the game, and he said it was better than he had imagined in his head.
“It was better than that,” Bush beamed. “I felt it. I definitely had fun out there. I had a lot of fun.”
Being compared to Shazier puts a lot of pressure on Bush, but he seems ready to step up to the plate, and help the Steelers anyway he can. He is going to get plenty of chances to prove his talents in year one as long as he stays healthy and the hope is that he can lock down the position for many years to come.
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