Ohio State DE Heyward No. 1 Steelers pick
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Ohio State defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (center) pressures Ohio University quarterback Boo Jackson (8) during the first quarter of a 2008 game.
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Maybe not as good a story as the Pouncey twins, but the Steelers played their own game of all in the family when they drafted Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward on the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.
Born in Pittsburgh, he follows in the shoes of his father, the late Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, a Pitt running back who also was drafted in the first round, by the New Orleans Saints at No. 24 in 1988. His mother, Charlotte Heyward-Blackwell, is a Pittsburgh native.
"I know he's watching," Heyward said of his father. "I'm going to try to do everything to make him proud of me and live his legacy on."
Heyward, who lived in Monroeville as a youngster, has plenty of family in Pittsburgh, including uncle Nate Heyward, who followed in his brother Craig's shoes as a running back at Pitt.
"Aunts, grandparents, uncle ... I know Pittsburgh pretty well," said Heyward, who currently lives in Suwanee, Ga., and said he visits Pittsburgh twice annually.
"I've always loved the team, I'm from there ... To be somewhere you want to be is an unbelievable feeling."
Steelers officials say they were overjoyed to draft Heyward and never thought of anyone else when their turn came at No. 31.
"We feel this is one of those special players I talked about the other day," said Kevin Colbert, the team's director of football operations. "It's hard to find a hole with this guy. This is a special moment."
Heyward (6 feet 51/2, 288 pounds) is the second defensive end drafted on the first round by the Steelers in the past three years and their third consecutive lineman. They took defensive end Ziggy Hood No. 1 in 2009 and center Maurkice Pouncey last year.
First Published April 29, 2011 12:43 am
