The Steelers sent a scout out to Salt Lake City for the matchup between Utah and Florida on Thursday night, Zach Goodall of Sports Illustrated reports.
This is common for this time of year, as the 2024 NFL Draft cycle has already started for those scouts. While Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan focus more on the start of the NFL season, the scouts go on the road to attend practices and games to lay the groundwork for 2024 evaluations.
In this game, there are plenty of talented players, both upperclassmen and underclassmen, for the Steelers to watch. The headliner from the game is Florida EDGE Princely Umanmielen. In 11 starts a year ago, Umanmielen racked up 4.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. However, his strength comes in his run defense as a strong player with heavy hands at the point of attack. There is athletic potential to tap into with Umanmielen, but his pass-rush plan has to come along to boost his stock.
Another intriguing player for Florida is Jason Marshall Jr. Marshall’s got fantastic physical traits to work with at his disposal. However, the Gators have a few offensive players to watch as well. After transferring from Wisconsin, quarterback Graham Mertz is now a veteran, while running back Montrell Johnson is a speedy back with elite open-field elusiveness. Slot receiver Ricky Pearsall is a fast receiver with great quicks and a leadership knack as one of Florida’s captains. He created a trustworthy duo with Anthony Richardson a year ago. Other players for Florida includes guard Micah Mazzccua and center Kinglsey Eguakun.
For Utah, tight end Brant Kuithe is out, likely their top prospect out of the chute. However, right tackle Sataoa Laumea is an intriguing player. He could project as a guard at the next level, with a mauler mindset and good movement skills in space. Edge rusher Jonah Elliss has an NFL brother, Noah, with the New Orleans Saints, and his dad was a 10-year NFL veteran. He flashed in the game with a sack and has excellent physical traits. His consistency came along at the end of last season. Other players for Utah include cornerbacks Miles Battle and Zemaiah Vaughn and safety Cole Bishop. Bishop, in particular, is considered one of the better safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft class.