There had been early camp buzz, but last night, Pittsburgh Steeler fans finally got a chance to see what this Ryan Dean Shazier kid was all about.
In his NFL preseason debut, Shazier played early and spectacularly for the Steelers, recording 11 tackles (two on special teams) and notching the first of what should be many interceptions, when he picked Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel in the first quarter, returning it 27 yards to set up a Pittsburgh touchdown.
Shazier's 11 tackles included nine solos, or five more than any other defender playing in the game, a 19-16 win for Pittsburgh. And he made his presence known immediately:
Ryan Shazier already has four tackles, an interception and a special teams tackles and still three minutes left in first quarter.
— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_ESPN) August 17, 2014
Not bad for a guy recovering from what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin referred to as a "boo-boo" two weeks ago. Seriously, just watch this 53-second highlight of Ryan Shazier being Ryan Shazier.
Speaking of Buckeyes in the NFL, how unfair is it for the defending Super Bowl champion to have this kind of talent coming off the bench at quarterback?
That's Terrelle Pryor making NFL players look slow on a 44-yard touchdown run in Saturday night's 41-14 (too soon?) over the Chargers.
[Pryor GIF via @cjzero]