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Steelers Selection of Eli Heidenreich Caps Big Pittsburgh Weekend
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Steelers Selection of Eli Heidenreich Caps Big Pittsburgh Weekend
(© Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
The Steelers' last selection in the first NFL Draft heldin Pittsburgh was memorable as they chose Navy running back/wide receiver EliHeidenreich with their second pick in the seventh round.
Heidenreich, from suburban Mount Lebanon, Pa., wore his fullNaval Academy dress uniform when commissioner Roger Goodell introduced him tothe crowd. More than 800,000 fans attended the three-day event in the shadow of Acrisure Stadium.
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"It was pretty incredible," Heidenreich said."The biggest thing for me is I turned that corner, and you see the cityskyline in the background, and the crowd is like 90 percent black and gold.It's all Steelers fans out there. It was such a cool moment. Everything justkind of came together.
"I was pretty overwhelmed with emotions, but I'm justthankful that I had this opportunity that the NFL invited me to be in the greenroom and allowed for this moment to be even more special."
The 6-foot, 198-pounder earned second-team All-AmericanAthletic Conference honors last season after totaling 1,440 yards. He recorded51 receptions for 941 yards and six touchdowns, and also rushed 77 times for499 yards and three TDs.
Heidenreich joined an exclusive group of major collegeplayers—just three in 70 years—to record at least 400 rushing yards and 900receiving yards in a single season. The others were Tennessee 's Randall Cobb (2010) and West Virginia's Tavon Austin (2012).
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For the second straight year, Heidenreich tied the schoolrecord with six receiving touchdowns. He memorably recovered a fourth-quarterfumble in the Army-Navy game to keep possession and caught the game-winningtouchdown two plays later.
In three seasons in Annapolis from 2023-25, Heidenreichestablished school career receiving records with 1,994 yards and 16 touchdowns.He had 109 receptions and rushed for 1,157 yards while starting 30 of 38 games.
In 2022, Heidenreich entered the academy but did not play thatseason because the service academies do not grant redshirts.
Heidenreich was the Pennsylvania Class 6A Player of the Yearin 2021, leading Mount Lebanon High School to its first state championship with2,266 all-purpose yards, 29 touchdowns, 60 tackles, and four interceptions. Hewas also an all-section baseball player.
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Heidenreich's grandfather and uncle both served in the Navy.
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