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Thursday, July 23, 1998 By Bob Smizik, Post-Gazette Sports Columnist
The competition between Jamain Stephens and Paul Wiggins to become the Steelers' starting right tackle figured to be one of the most fiercely contested in training camp. Coach Bill Cowher had pitted the two men, both with little experience, and made it known that the one with the best camp would win the job.
But one practice session into the 31-day camp the competition is over ... according to Stephens.
"I don't see it as a competition," he said after the Steelers' first workout yesterday. "I'm already claiming the job as being mine. It's not official. Cowher hasn't made the statement. I just feel like it's my time and there's nobody that can stand in the way of that."
Such a statement would have to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism from the old Jamain Stephens, the badly overweight, sadly-out-of-shape No. 1 draft choice of 1996. But that man has disappeared, almost literally. In his place is a confident, assertive, physically fit, properly proportioned Stephens, who looks as good as he talks.
In his first two training camps, Stephens reported at close to 360 pounds, which even on a 6-foot-5 frame was distinctly too much. The scale read 320 for Stephens yesterday and he expects to be lighter by the time the regular season begins.
He is a new man, physically and mentally.
"It's a brand new Jamain Stephens, no doubt about it," he said. "I'm not as tired so soon. Actually, I'm not tired at all. I feel like I could run all day."
As far as pressure on him as a No. 1 draft choice who hasn't produced in two seasons, Stephens said that is in the past.
"The pressure was when I was not doing what I felt I could. I like to come in and be physical, be mean, be aggressive. I couldn't do that because I was too busy trying to catch my breath. I was out of shape most of the time and feeling sorry for myself pretty much."
When it became clear that the Steelers were not interested in retaining the services of free-agent tackle John Jackson, Stephens began to see an opportunity. For the first time in his NFL career, he saw a future.
"Feeling like I didn't have a chance was part of me not being as motivated the first two years," Stephens said. "I wasn't going to play and I kind of took the mindset, 'You're not going to play, so why work?' It was out of character for me. It kind of snuck up on me. But I finally came out of the fog. I guess it dawned on me when they let John Jackson go to free agency. I felt like that was the key for me to have an opportunity for a starting position."
It was about time. Stephens, 24, was inactive for all 18 games as a rookie. He then did little last season to alter the view that he was a bust. He played in eight games, starting against the New England Patriots in the 15th game. But even in that role, he failed to live up to expectations, going out with an injury in the first quarter.
Tom Donahoe, the Steelers' director of football operations, said expectations were too high for Stephens, who played at small-college North Carolina A&T.
"Jamain has taken some unfair criticism. It hasn't been his fault. There's been no place to play him. He was drafted by a team that has, arguably, one of the best offensive lines in football. Where were you going to play him?"
With a place to play, Stephens committed himself to conditioning in the off-season. He ran distance in the morning. He did sprints and weight training in the afternoon. After dinner, he returned to the gym to work out on a bike and treadmill and jump rope. Three days a week, he swam. With that regimen, combined with a lower intake of food, the pounds came melting off. The result is a big football player, but not one who attracts stares because of the size of his rear end or his stomach.
Wiggins, 6 feet 3, 307 pounds, was not offended by Stephens' declaration of first-team status.
"Whoever wins it, wins it," Wiggins said. "I would say the same thing if you asked me."
The final word, spoken matter-of-factly, goes to Stephens.
"I can be a dominant player in this league."
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