Tight end coach TC McCartney (9.16.23)
Harrison (Bryant) obviously missed basically all of training camp once you guys got back here. How have you seen him kind of get back into form, get back into shape and how good was it to see him get in the end zone on Sunday?
“Oh, it was really good to see him get in the end zone. It’s always fun and a really nice spike there. A lot of hype on that spike, but he did miss a lot of time. The one thing you never worry about with Harrison is knowing what to do. And so, I felt comfortable with him mentally going into the game, but there is a lot of reps that he had to get. He got some extras on scout team, just trying to get himself back into football playing shape, but he felt good out there and we’ll continue to work that process. It’s definitely a process.”
Mike Tomlin, I listened to his press conference the other day and he was talking about David Njoku and said just how much he’s kind of grown up in the program. You can see the development and maturation and I know you guys talk about that a lot, but I guess is that just kind of validation for what you guys have seen, that David has taken all these huge steps since you guys have had him?
“Absolutely. I mean, he came into the league so young. He was so young when he got here. There’s always going to be growing up there and then he’s taken a lot of steps in these last few years being a leader on the team and obviously some production last year before he got hurt, where you’re starting to see everything that he wants and that everyone expected from him to start.”
Is this a game where you could see David having a nice game?
“I certainly hope so. I go into every game thinking that, but I know he’s excited for the opportunity. He played well last year—both games versus these guys. So anytime it’s a rivalry game, I think he’s geeked up and ready to play.”
I guess a game like that where he only has two catches but he played a bunch. Do you still kind of watch that tape and see his impact in the run game and kind of all those other areas besides catching the ball?
“Absolutely. We talk about all the time just being able to play without the ball, you know more of a term they use in basketball. But in the run game, he made some huge blocks on the third down run we had getting that pin on the one where Wyatt (Teller) had the pancake, but Dave had a huge block there. Being able to leave him in pass protection. There’s a lot of tight ends around the league you can’t do that with, but he can. That allows us to get other guys out and run. So he impacts the game in a ton of different ways, and it’s not always the catches, and of course we all want the production, but he opens things up for a lot of other people. He allows us to do a lot of different things offensively, which allows us to be good. So I think he knows that, which is why, you know what, some days you don’t get all the balls, some days you will. They kind of come in bunches, so we’ll see how it goes the rest of the season.”
How have his hands gotten better over the years, and how has he become a better receiver?
“He’s worked really hard on route running. I know that still some room to grow because he should never get covered. He’s just too big and fast. So anytime he’s covered, he did something wrong, tell him I said that. Okay? But I know he has a jug machine at his house. He works on it all the time. I call him at times and he’s over at his house just catching balls. He has guys over there to catch balls. So he works really hard at it. I wasn’t really here at the beginning of his career, but ever since I’ve been here, I know just working the jugs at home, working catches pre practice. He’s always been really diligent about that.”
Obviously he isn’t just focused on himself, you know, when he sees like last week, (George) Kittle had a big game against Pittsburgh, and I’ve heard him talk about (Travis) Kelce before. How much does that sort of- can you notice wanting to be considered in that tier of tight end? How much is it that you notice in him that drives him?
“I think it definitely drives him. He definitely wants to be known as one of the best in the game, and everyone knows that kind of recognition he gets from production. But we watch those guys. I make a cut up for them for all the explosives around the league, for all the tight ends, so they get to watch those guys. They kind of keep up with what everybody’s doing. I think that’s important that you’re positioned to just know what’s going on. But I think it definitely drives him. Being the best drives him, as a team and as an individual. So I think he’s definitely aware of what’s going on around the league with the other tight ends.”
What kind of challenge does (TJ) Watt and (Alex) Highsmith present for your guys, especially with a rookie right tackle who you guys might need to help more than normal?
“Yeah, I mean, it doesn’t matter who the tackles are. When those edge players are out there, you got to have a plan for them. You got to mix up looks. You got to do a lot of different things. So there’s always a challenge when you’re playing these guys. It’s always a challenge when you’re playing the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They’re always good, and these edge players kind of make that whole defense go. So we’re definitely aware of where they’re going to be, we’re aware of what we have to do in the run game, in the past game, pass protection game, what we’re going to do to try and be successful.”
What other challenges does the Steelers defense present to the tight ends?
“I think they do a good job of mixing looks. They added different personnel packages, they present you with some different looks across the board—you’re not sure what you’re going to get. So I think that’s always a challenge there on the edge, but I think what really makes it go is those players. Those guys are really, really good.”
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