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Flawless First Start Caps Memorable Week for Rookie Kicker Nick Sciba

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Steelers kicker Nick Sciba

Last week was surely an eventful one for rookie placekicker Nick Sciba. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.

A Wake Forest product, Sciba owns the NCAA record for most successful field goals in a row with 34. Yet, prior to suiting up for Pittsburgh last Sunday, he was working a more humble part-time job at a seafood market in his hometown.

“The owner is our family friend,” Sciba said of his gig at Saltwater Markets, in Clover, S.C. “I worked there when I was in high school and I was looking for something that I could do. Something to take my mind off things and make a little extra money on the side.”

The Steelers’ usual kicker, Chris Boswell, was ruled out for last Sunday’s matchup with Philadelphia with a right groin injury. Pittsburgh turned to Sciba, an undrafted rookie who was with the team throughout preseason and training camp. He and special teams coordinator Danny Smith had talked after he was waived in August.

“He said that he would keep me in mind, but, you know, you don’t think about it,” Sciba said. “I was excited, but I wasn’t ready for it.”

He got the call from the Steelers Friday morning and hopped on a flight that afternoon. Having kept with his typical routine, kicking three to four times a week and working out, it paid off.

“It’s just all about having the mindset and just having to trust the process,” Sciba said. “Even if one doesn’t work out, it might open a door for another and just having the faith that, sooner or later, you’re going to stick somewhere.”

He made a pair of field goals and also split the uprights on a point after in his professional debut. There wasn’t any added weight on his shoulders.

“I try not to think about it,” Sciba said. “I try to just go out there and do my best every time. Just do what I’ve been doing for the past four years of college and in high school.

“I always used to say, ‘If I put pressure on myself, that’s just one more person trying to make me miss a kick.'”

Along with defensive tackle Carlos Davis, Sciba returned the practice squad after the clash.