Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hands a boy his shoe that he signed after workouts yesterday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe Click photo for larger image

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It was only a practice, only the fifth day of training camp, and nobody was going to lay so much as a hand on Ben Roethlisberger. But there he was Wednesday night, ducking in and out among pass-rushers, scrambling outside the pocket, pointing his finger downfield to direct his wide receivers, looking like he looked last year when he became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.It hasn't been two months since Roethlisberger's life nearly changed forever, since he was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident that produced massive bleeding and numerous facial and head injuries. But, in eight more days, he will be doing something nobody on June 12 expected -- opening the preseason at quarterback for the Steelers.

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Coach Bill Cowher would not confirm yesterday that Roethlisberger will start in the preseason opener next Saturday in Arizona, but it should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched him throw, run and take part in nearly every individual or team drill at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe that he will be in his familiar spot against the Cardinals.

"I have every intention of being out there," Roethlisberger said. "I'm expecting to. I'm going into it thinking I'm good to go and ready to go."

Actually, the only surprise is that Roethlisberger feels as well as he does, given the circumstances of the past seven weeks.

His weight is 235 pounds, down from 250 when he won the Super Bowl. His arm isn't tired. And he said he is feeling better than he did at his previous two training camps with the Steelers.

"Everything feels pretty good," Roethlisberger said. "My arm feels good. I feel like it's really coming along. Maybe because I'm lighter I feel like I have less ice on my arm, less ice on my body. I'm doing a lot of pool work after practice and doing some laps. I think that's really helped my shoulder a lot."

That was apparent during Wednesday night's practice at Latrobe Stadium when he was gunning several throws, let go with a couple deep passes and stomped his feet in disgust when he missed a touchdown pass to Nate Washington, throwing the ball too high for the second-year receiver to catch it in the end zone.

But one play in particular crystallized the way Roethlisberger has recovered: During an 11-on-11 drill, he stepped out of the pocket, moved to his right, ducked back to his left and began directing his receivers to alter their routes. While running to the left, Roethlisberger threw across his body and completed a 20-yard pass to Hines Ward along the sideline, right in front of cornerback Deshea Townsend.

"The way he's handling the huddle, the way he's doing all those things, he looks like Ben, which is a great thing," said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

"He truly looks like his old self," Ward said. "It's miraculous, coming off an incident like he was in and to come out and perform the way he did in the scrimmage. You're starting to see him starting to get more comfortable, getting back into football form."

To be sure, it was only practice, and none of the lineman were going to touch Roethlisberger. But it was a telling indication of the way Roethlisberger feels and perhaps the last step he needed to make before the ultimate litmus test -- taking an actual hit.

That won't come until next week in Arizona, when the Steelers help the Cardinals christen their new domed stadium. And Ward thinks taking that first hit will help, not hinder, Roethlisberger's road to recovery.

"We'll still have to see once he takes that first lick how he's going to respond," Ward said. "I think once he gets hit, I think he'll kind of put it behind him and move on. Ben's a strong kid. He's going out there working his tail off."

Of course, the big concern is what happens when Roethlisberger takes a hit to the head.

Despite the number of broken bones in his face -- upper and lower jaw, nose and orbital -- Roethlisberger is going to wear the same helmet he wore last season. He experimented with several other helmets, including the Revolution model, which fits lower around the jaw and is designed to protect against concussions. But the helmet, which is worn by a lot of linemen and linebackers, hindered his vision.

"I'll take the chance," Roethlisberger said. "I don't hear about too many football players breaking their jaw, so I'll take a chance my helmet will be good."

Said Cowher about the helmet: "If he's happy, I'm happy."

So far, everything the Steelers have seen of Roethlisberger has been nothing but good. Being ready for the Sept. 7 season opener against the Miami Dolphins -- a concern not that long ago -- doesn't appear to be much of an issue anymore.

"You could see [Wednesday night], when he was moving around, that's starting to come back," Whisenhunt said. "He made some great throws, some strong throws down the field. He's really been throwing the ball well."