Steelers Rookie Kevin Jobity Jr. Reveals Emotional Reaction After Finding Out He Made the Team

Story by

Story by
Steelers Rookie Kevin Jobity Jr. Reveals Emotional Reaction After Finding Out He Made the Team

Heena Singh · Gridiron Heroics

Sun, Sep 6, 2026 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

The wait was getting to Kevin Jobity Jr. He had spent the afternoon trying not to think about the one question hanging over his head: did he make the Pittsburgh Steelers ? So he went to the movies, hoping a couple of hours in the dark would take his mind elsewhere.

It did not last long. A text from the Steelers director of player development, Darrel Young , changed everything. Jobity saw the message, bolted out of the theater and learned that his unlikely push had paid off. The undrafted rookie was staying with the Steelers.

Kevin Jobity Jr. Earns His Spot With Steelers

Dec 7, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers guard Andrus Peat (71) high fives quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) after a play against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jobity received the life-changing te xt on August 30, as the Steelers finalized their 53-man roster. Young sent him a simple congratulations; however, Jobity was not immediately convinced. He called Young, raced out of the theater, and finally got confirmation that he had made the team.

The moment capped a summer in which the Syracuse product went from an overlooked undrafted rookie to the Steelers' seventh defensive lineman.

"I was at the movie theater just trying to take my mind off of everything. I saw his text and ran out of there in three seconds."

Even the timing made the news sweeter. Jobity had just played against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale at Highmark Stadium. Growing up around Bills games and knowing that his relatives and friends would be in the stadium, including a cousin who works there, he kept himself grounded rather than getting carried away like everyone else by focusing on the fundamentals he learned during training camp.

This level of maturity was reflected even on the football field, where Jobity sacked the Bills' quarterback Shane Buechele in the final exhibition game, an action which he revealed he had planned before the start of the game. Most importantly, his gradual progress did not go unnoticed by Omar Khan, Pittsburgh's general manager.

"He earned it. The more he was around, the more disruptive he was." (Via Athlon Sports )

That rise is even more notable considering Jobity's unusual path into football. He played basketball and soccer before picking up the sport seriously as a high school senior. He eventually became an all-state defensive lineman and spent four seasons at Syracuse, finishing with 83 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks across 38 games.

At 6-foot-4 and roughly 308 pounds , Jobity also brought intriguing athletic traits. His 8.78 Relative Athletic Score ranked 258th among 2,279 defensive tackles evaluated historically, with Leonard Williams listed among his closest athletic comparisons.

Now the movie theater story has a much better ending. What started as an anxious afternoon away from football turned into the moment Jobity found out he had officially earned his NFL opportunity.

Kevin Jobity Jr. Earns His Spot With Steelers

Related reading: