The Pittsburgh Steelers entire rookie class is at the team's facility in preparation for the team's annual rookie minicamp. The minicamp will begin on Friday and will run through the weekend. A day before they hit the field as NFL players for the first time, Pittsburgh's rookies were fitted for their new jerseys and helmets. Their Thursday also included receiving their locker assignments. The rookies are ready to roll?? pic.twitter.com/vD2ZLOkFCu — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 10, 2019 In the first round, Pittsburgh traded up with the Denver Broncos to select Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush, the third player GM Kevin Colbert has traded up to get in the first round in his 20 seasons with the organization. To get Bush, Pittsburgh gave Denver their 20th and 52nd overall picks in this year’s draft along with a third round pick in next year’s draft. Pittsburgh drafted former Toledo receiver Diontae Johnson with the 66th overall pick in the draft. Johnson won the Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year award during his final season with the Rockets. Along with catching 23 touchdown passes in three seasons at Toledo, Johnson also returned two punts and two kickoff returns for scores during his time with the Rockets. In 2017, his play helped Toledo win the school's first MAC championship since 2004. The Steelers then drafted Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne with the 83rd overall pick in the draft. Layne broke up a whopping 24 passes during his time with the Spartans. Benny Snell, a running back from Kentucky, was drafted by Pittsburgh with the 122nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 5'11, 223-pound back rushed for 3,873 yards and 48 touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry during his time with the Wildcats. Zach Gentry, a tight end out of the University of Michigan, was selected by the Steelers with the 141st pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 6'8, 262-pound target caught 49 passes for 817 yards and four scores during his final two seasons in Ann Arbor. Sutton Smith was selected by the Steelers with the 175th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. An OLB/DE hybrid, the 6'1, 237-pound Smith recorded a staggering 29.0 sacks during his final two years at Northern Illinois. He started his college career as a quarterback before moving over to the defensive side of the ball. Isaiah Buggs, a former Alabama defensive tackle, was selected by the Steelers with the 192nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 6'5, 286-pound lineman had a breakout season in 2018, recording 9.5 sacks while helping the Crimson Tide advance to yet another college football national championship game. He also had two forced fumbles and 13.5 tackles for loss last season. Ulysees Gilbert III, an inside linebacker out of Akron, was selected by the Steelers with the 207th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Gilbert visited with the Steelers prior to the NFL Draft. The 6'1, 230-pound linebacker racked up 357 tackles (28.5 for loss) 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions during his three seasons with the Zips. Derwin Gray, an offensive guard out of Maryland, was selected by Pittsburgh with the 219th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 6'5, 330-pound Gray joins a Pittsburgh offensive line that boasts three Pro Bowlers in Maurkice Pouncey, Alejandro Villanueva and David DeCastro. The Steelers quickly signed several undrafted rookies shortly after the 2019 NFL Draft had concluded. The following players will also take part in this weekend's minicamp. Trevor Wood, TE/Long Snapper, Arizona/Texas A&M: The 6'6, 265-pound Wood caught 11 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown during his collegiate career. Dravon Askew-Henry, Safety, West Virginia: A Pittsburgh native, Askew-Henry picked off six passes while recording 10 passes defensed during his time with the Mountaineers. Travon McMillian, Running Back, Colorado: After spending his first three collegiate seasons at Virginia Tech, McMillian rushed for 1,009 yards and seven scores last season during his one season at Colorado while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Jay Hayes, Defensive Line, Georgia: Hayes spent his first four collegiate seasons at Notre Dame before playing for Georgia last fall. During his one season with the Bulldogs. Hayes recorded 42 tackles during his college career. Chris Nelson, Defensive Line, Texas: Nelson racked up 3.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss during his time at Texas. Matthew Wright, Kicker, Central Florida: Wright made 98.6 percent of his extra points and 77.5 percent of his field goal attempts during his time at Central Florida. Alexander Myres, Cornerback, Houston: Myres picked off two passes to go with 12 pass breakups during his time at Houston. Fred Johnson, Guard, Florida Ian Berryman, Punter, Western Carolina: Berryman averaged 42.3 yards per punt last season. Garrett Brumfield, Guard, LSU: Brumfield did not start a game during his time with the Tigers. Brandon Hunt, the team's pro scouting coordinator, recently discussed what he and the rest of Pittsburgh's brass is looking for during this weekend's minicamp. “The main thing we wanna see is we wanna see shape, we wanna see competitiveness, we wanna see how they respond to a new environment, we wanna see how they’re gonna interact in adverse situations because it’s not gonna be as clean as some of the situations they were in in college and just see how they react and respond to coaching," Hunt told Steelers.com's Missi Matthews. “We wanna see who is gonna step up, who is potentially have the wide eye look. "This is just the first step. Right away, when they get done on Monday, they’ll be in Phase 2, thrown right in with our veterans. The following week, they’re in OTAs. This is just their first benchmark. They’ve been training all these months for combine and Pro Day work, and this is gonna be exciting to see them flip the switch and get back to football.”<doc-sep>PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The first on-the-field look for the newest members of the Steelers is taking place on the South Side this weekend. Rookie Minicamp is underway at the Rooney Complex, as all of the Steelers draft picks and undrafted free agents are on the field together. Also partaking in the drills and workouts are first-year players and rookies who are there on a tryout basis. Steelers first round choice Devin Bush was a notable name on the field Friday morning. “Devin Bush first practice with the Steelers #RookieMinicamp ⁦@KDKA⁩ He looks impressive.” “Bush is unstoppable on this drill. Won every time. 5 yard sprints ⁦@KDKA.” The minicamp continues Saturday morning. Veterans will join the rookies with OTA’s starting in the coming weeks.<doc-sep>
Devin Bush took part in his first practice as an NFL player on Friday, when the Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their 2019 rookie minicamp. Bush, the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, showed off his versatility when he made the following catch during individual drills. Also showing his pass-catching ability was fellow rookie inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III. Gilbert is one of seven Pittsburgh rookies that have signed their contracts prior to the start of minicamp. Good hands from Devin Bush (55), even Ulysees Gilbert (54) pic.twitter.com/m0Vwxykx6f — James C Wexell (@jimwexell) May 10, 2019 Bush continues to garner excitement as he prepares for his first NFL season, as he was recently named to the NFL.com's 2019 All-Rookie Team. Bush, Tampa Bay's Devin White (the fifth overall pick) and Jacksonville's Josh Allen (the seventh overall pick) make up the linebackers on the preseason All-Rookie Team. Pittsburgh's rookie class, as a whole, has been receiving praise since the draft concluded last Saturday. ESPN's KC Joyner recently picked Pittsburgh's rookie class as the NFL rookie class that will make the biggest impact in 2019. "The Steelers were a pass-happy team that didn't tackle well and often played uninspired football last season," Joyner wrote. "This draft class was selected to help fix that, as linebacker Devin Bush, cornerback Justin Layne and running back Benny Snell. all add an immediate dose of physicality and toughness to an organization that needs a reminder of what Steelers football is supposed to be." Joyner also tabbed Pittsburgh's selection of Bush as his favorite pick in this year's draft. "John Madden used to say that one or two tough tacklers can make all of the difference on defense, as their enthusiasm for hitting can inspire the rest of the defenders to be better hitters and tacklers," he wrote. "Bush will be that type of tackling and hitting difference-maker for a Steelers defense that hasn't been the same following Ryan Shazier's devastating injury." Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert believes that Bush, an All-American last season as well as the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year, will make an immediate impact on Pittsburgh's defense. "Really, we identified Devin going back into last year when we watched him as an underclassman," Colbert said initially after selecting Bush. "Coach had a handle on him coming into this season. We scouted him extensively. We had four different people go in during the fall, myself included. We saw him play live games, visited with him at the Combine, we visited with him the night before his pro day, and of course attended his pro day. "This is a quality young man who's really an excellent football player," Colbert continued. "As an inside linebacker, his game is really predicated on what is needed to play the position in modern-day NFL football because he cannot only play the run, he's got exceptional coverage abilities, and he can also rush the passer. Very, very excited that we were able to move up and be able to get a young play, a young man, like Devin Bush."