Welcome Mike Humpal to Pittsburgh

I've not yet mentioned the addition of Iowa LB Mike Humpall, a 6th round selection of this year's draft. Let's take a look at some of Humpal's measurables and collegiate accomplishments:

Height: 6'3"; Weight: 244 lbs

4-time Academic All Big Ten selection

Iron Hawk Award winner, Hayden Fry Award (defense), Team Captain Defense

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in 2007 after 18 tackle performance against Illinois.

Humpal fared pretty well at the Combine. His 31" vertical jump placed him in 'Top Performers' category. In fact, his vertical was higher than Keith Rivers, the top LB taken in this year's draft. He was also a top performer in the 3-cone drills, the 20-yard shuttle and the 60-yard shuttle, as well as in the Broad jump. To me, Humpal seems like the kind of guy who may not have elite raw speed, but those performances in the shuttle drills lead me to believe he has a good first step and good straight-line speed. The word is he's a crafty instinctual player, helping him mask some of his less-than-stellar physical attributes.

Finally, Humpal's a tackle machine. 121 tackles last year in the Big 10. I didn't mind seeing that he had 3 INTs last year either.

The more I think about this selection, the more pleased I am with it. Tomlin likes competition? I think he has himself another young competitor to play some on special teams and back-up Foote, Farrior and Timmons. If nothing else, I think we can rely on him being ready to play in a pinch, as report after report raves about his work-ethic, understanding of the game, and coachability. I have a hunch we may grow quite fond of this guy over the years. For a 6th rounder, following our more risky selections in Rounds 4 and 5, I'm quite pleased with what we got. A proven, steady player that can probably do just fine in the league, especially if he had solid play in front of him by our defensive linemen.