UNITY TWP., Pa. — It’s hot.
The first full day of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers for training camp 2023 checked in with a high temperature of 84 degrees and by the end of the day, humidity at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport just down the road was 100%.
The combination of head and humidity makes for an elevated heat index, and on the practice surface at Chuck Noll Field, retained water in the ground will essentially be boiling off, making the air a thick, sweat-inducing soup for the participants in Friday’s practice session number two.
The heat has already had an impact, as reserve tight end Rodney Williams II — ironically nicknamed “Hot Rod” — was unable to finish the first practice session on Thursday.
“Thankfully, we didn’t have any health issues today,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “I think Rodney Williams, at tight end, got a little bit of fatigue, via the heat. We’ll evaluate him and see if we can get him back out here tomorrow.”
Obviously, Tomlin doesn’t want any injury issues. But he does not mind the heat one bit. As the heat index rises, fatigue sets in. It stresses the players’ abilities to make decisions. Tempers get short. Whoever can keep their cool — pun intended — will have passed the combined testing of Tomlin and temperature.
“Availability is a big component of this thing, particularly at the early stages,” Tomlin said. “That’s how you get better, you make yourself available, you snap the ball, you work, you repeat process and in the midst of that you analyze and adjust and so forth.”
The Steelers campers probably won’t get a break on Friday. The forecasted high temperature is up to 88, with 70% humidity. Only the chance of an afternoon thunderstorm seems like a potential respite.
Camp notes: Minkah Fitzpatrick was an extremely limited participant in Thursday’s first practice session. Tomlin brushed it aside as preference to look at others on the depth chart.
“Nothing of any significance,” he said “Sometimes we know a lot about guys, we minimize them in an effort to get to see others. You probably didn’t see a lot of Diontae (Johnson), you probably didn’t see a significant amount of Cam (Heyward). I mean, there’s going to be a lot of that in this process. We have 90 guys out here that we are working to get to know, some of them that we really know like Minkah. Sometimes we minimize them in an effort to see others.”
One of Fitzpatrick’s backups, Elijah Riley, made an interception and was one of the standouts of the first day’s session.
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