Calvin Austin III Burns Steelers Secondary at Training Camp

LATROBE, Pa. — Calvin Austin III came out to make plays with the offense on Friday under the lights, and make plays he did. The Steelers’ speedy wide receiver has had an up-and-down training camp, with plenty of big plays and moreover, plenty of drops that have caused his game to show the good and the bad. However, on Friday, Austin put together what was the best practice of his entire season.

“It was all about stacking good days,” Austin said. “That’s all I can really do when I come out here. So, trying to be consistent and make plays each day, that’s what I do.”

Calvin Austin started his day off strong and ended it with another play equally as impressive. On one route, he dusted Elijah Riley on a sail route and did a great job to contort his body into the sideline and come down in bounds. He won every rep of his today in the one-on-ones.

But it was the team periods with Austin really popped. In seven shots, he made a tough combat catch, something he had failed to do so far for most of training camp. Later, Mitch Trubisky would hit Austin against single-high coverage on a deep post route for a 60-yard gain. Austin said that they knew it was single-high, and Trubisky trusted that Austin’s speed could get him over the top. It sure did. Lastly, on a deep rollout, Austin ran a sail route to the sideline to the left, and Trubisky faded away to hit him downfield for 30 yards with easy separation.

“I feel like I came out here and put up a great effort,” Austin said, “But now, I have to restart all over and have another good day tomorrow. It’s all about stacking.”

From Austin, there were no drops, no qualms, and no asterisks next to anything he did on Friday night. Pittsburgh wants him to be the explosive spark the team has missed for seasons with his game-changing speed. With more days like Friday, that role will be secured.