Steelers 2011 NFL Draft: Cameron Heyward, Mike Tomlin, and Kevin Colbert Quotes

While we wait for the start of the second round beginning at 6 pm eastern time, here's a few quotes from the Pittsburgh Steelers first round draft choice, Cameron Heyward, as well as from Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin.

Cameron Heyward 

His thoughts on what type of player the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting:

"A team-first kind of player, very accountable and a guy that is constantly going to work hard and contribute as much as he can for his team."

His thoughts on what it means to be a first round draft pick and a Pittsburgh Steeler:

"One of my goals has always been to be a first rounder.  I have always worked hard to be a first rounder and to be picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers it is a an unbelievable opportunity and I am really going to cherish it and I am going to work hard to show people that I deserve that spot."

 Heyward recently had Tommy-John Surgery.  His response to how ready he is to play:

"Great. If minicamp started tomorrow I would be there."

What it means to him to come back to Pittsburgh after being born in Pittsburgh:

"Not having my father around through this process, it has been tough.  But I know he is watching and I am going to strive everyday to make him proud of me and to live his legacy on."

His thoughts on a defense first team:

"I love it. The defense, to be a part of this type of defense is one of a kind. You can’t emulate it in a lot of places. The town, they support their team. I’ve always had a Terrible Towel. I look forward to being a part of Steeler Nation."

His thoughts on his previous system at Ohio State:

"I think we try to adapt our defense to a Steeler brand type of ball because Coach LeBeau is a well renowned player at Ohio State.  We try to adapt well and playing their type of ball, getting after the quarterback, making a lot of plays in the back field, being an attacking defense.  That is the type of defense I am accustomed to."

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Kevin Colbert

His thoughts of Cameron Heyward as a Person and a Player:

"We feel this is one of those special players, not only from a football standpoint, but this kid has impeccable character, work habits, toughness, you name it. It’s hard to find a hole with this guy. He is a special player. He is a special person. Of course you are familiar with his father, the late, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, the great Pitt Panther. This is a special moment for this organization, and we are really, really excited to have this kid joining."

His thoughts on how the draft progressed:

"We got a guy we really coveted and we have all our picks remaining. I can’t tell you how happy we are about this."

His thoughts on whether Pittsburgh thought about moving around in the draft:

"No, there was a couple calls, more curiosity. We made a couple curiosity calls and we had a few calls from people in front of us that maybe wanted to flush down a couple teams behind us that wanted to come up. The longer it went, the better we felt about our chances. Fortunately it worked out today. We got a guy we really coveted and we have all our picks remaining. I can’t tell you how happy we are about this."

His thoughts on Heyward's elbow injury:

"He had surgery. He actually injured the elbow during the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas, finished the game, and had surgery shortly thereafter. He was unable to work out at the combine. He worked out March 30^th and 31st. Coach Tomlin and myself, and Coach LeBeau attended the work out, and he did very well. He cleared all the medical issues and he’ll be ready to go."

His thoughts on the local connection:

"Coach Tomlin talked to him and Art (Rooney) talked to him. His mother’s family is from Highland Park. Of course, “Ironhead” (father, Craig Heyward) played for Pitt. There are a lot of ties and it was something we hoped could happen. You’ll have to ask him, but I’m pretty sure he was excited about the possibility of coming here. Again, it looks like the stars aligned for us today, and again we feel real fortunate. I hope and I’m real positive that Cameron (Heyward) feels the same."

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Mike Tomlin

 

His thoughts of Cameron Heyward as a Person and a Player:

 "He's got a four-year body of work, not a one or two-year body of work. We are very familiar with this guy, very familiar schematically both in terms of what we do and what he was able to do at Ohio State. We are just extremely excited about him. He's an impeccable young man, a really good football player. It's going to be awesome to put him in the mix with some other big-body young people we've been able to add in recent years - Ziggy Hood, Maurkice Pouncey and now Cameron Heyward. I really feel good about adding to our lines of scrimmage with solid young people early in the draft."

His thoughts on how important his overall body of work was:

"It gives us a great deal of comfort from a predictability standpoint in that he is capable of showing what he has done there over an extended period of time. It’s not a one-year body of work. This guy has been a significant a core football player in that system since the time he stepped on campus. It creates a great deal of comfort when you are looking at a guy. He’s not only a mature young man, he is a mature player from that standpoint, relative to some other people that get drafted in the draft. He has about as much experience or playing experience that someone is going to have that you drafted."

His thoughts on Cameron's character:

"It’s a feel but it is also what they’ve done, what people say about them and of course their track record at the University. This guy is an A in that regard."

His thoughts on whether Heyward will be ready to pitch in the fall after the Tommy John Surgery:

"We won’t need him to pitch."