Who should win the BTSC 2021 Isaac Redman Award?

The BTSC tradition is back once again! It is your chance to vote for the winner of the Isaac Redman Award!

If you are new to BTSC and do not know the criteria, here are the rules that were shared by then editor Neal Coolong in 2014:

• Player must not be a draft pick higher than the sixth round
• Player can only have participated in two other training camps prior to this one
• Player demonstrated frequent references in comments regarding the likelihood of significant playing time in the coming year
• Weight of general fan sentiment is the player is a “diamond in the rough”
• Player does not have to make the team in the year of his nomination to qualify (this isn’t meant to be included in 53-man roster discussion)

The previous winners of this award are listed below.

2012 Adrian Robinson
2013 Alan Baxter
2014 Daniel McCullers
2015 Roosevelt Nix
2016 Tyler Matakevich
2017 Mike Hilton
2018 Matthew Thomas
2019 Tuzar Skipper
2020 Ulysees Gilbert

This year, we have four main candidates for the award. After seeing this year’s nominees, be sure to vote on the poll for who you think is most deserving of this award.

Candidate 1: Tre Norwood

Handout Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Norwood had some struggles when put in the slot, but for the majority of the preseason he displayed upside beyond what his athletic traits would indicate. Mike Tomlin has called Noorwood a “swiss-army knife,” and they certainly used him as such this preseason. His versatility was on display all preseason, and that was a key factor in him making the 53-man roster.

Candidate 2: Christian Kuntz

Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Not many people were paying attention to the battle at long-snapper, but Kuntz pulled off the upset and dethroned Kameron Canaday as the team’s long-snapper. If a long-snapper is getting mentioned, it is not usually a positive thing, so consider his lack of publicity a positive thing. Kuntz consistently snapped good balls, and even though he may not have gotten much attention this preseason, his efforts were enough to unseat a veteran.

Candidate 3: Jamir Jones

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Several weeks ago, BTSC’s own Shannon White wrote an interesting story about Jones and his chances of making the roster, and sure enough, Jones made the roster after consistently making a difference in the preseason. Jones is not the fastest or the strongest, but he has a natural feel for rushing the passer. He recorded an 86.1 PFF grade this preseason and led the team in special teams tackles, making him one of the favorites to win the 2021 Redman Award.

Candidate 4: Pressley Harvin

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers punting situation has been unstable for many years, but the front office finally decided to invest draft capital in a punter. Harvin was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, and his performance in the preseason was enough to unseat veteran Jordan Berry, who had a nice summer of his own. Harvin consistently punted balls with good distance, incredible hang time, and the requisite spin to pin opponents deep in their own territory. Hopefully Harvin is the long-term answer for the Steelers at this position.

Vote for the winner

There are the four candidates for the 2021 Isaac Redman Award. If you think that the winner should be someone not listed as a candidate, vote “other” on the poll and give your reasoning in the comment section below.