ASK THE STEELERS – MIKE WALLACE – PART 2
Steelers.com brings you the Ask the Steelers feature. Fans submitted the questions that were asked. Please understand that we receive an incredible number of questions for each player, with many of the questions being similar, and not all of the questions can be answered. We selected as many as possible, and took your questions to the current subject to get your answers.
From Douglas Felter in Connecticut: What is it like to have your friend and high school teammate Keenan Lewis here as a rookie too?
Mike Wallace: It's a good feeling. It makes the transition so much easier. You have someone who knows you; you have someone you have grown up with going through the same transition you are. It makes it a lot easier to know I have someone here with me going through all of this together.
From Jason Martin in Virginia: Do you and Keenan Lewis challenge each other, study together?
Mike Wallace: We challenge each other and push each other but we don't study together. We have two different things that we are trying to learn. But we always get on each other, saying if you get beat at practice I am going to be all over you, and if I don't catch the ball or I drop a pass, he is going to be on me. We are hard on each other. We are not going to make excuses for each other. We are hard on each other and that's what we need here to make it in the NFL.
From Paul Hughes in Ohio: Can you beat him one on one?
Mike Wallace: Oh yeah. Probably 95 percent of the time I will beat him. Only when I am not getting the ball can he beat me. When I am getting the ball I will beat him.
From Shane Wendt in New York: What do you feel is the toughest transition you will need to make going from college to the NFL?
Mike Wallace: Learning that this is a job. You can be gone at any second. In college you have to do something really bad to get cut. This is a job. If you are not cutting it you can be out of here.
From Dean Jamison in California: What is it like to learn from two Super Bowl MVPs in Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes?
Mike Wallace: It makes it a lot easier. They help me every day. They have been there. They are two Super Bowl MVPs. They have been where I want to get. Everything they tell me I am trying to take in.
From Monica Schreiber in New York: What experiences have you had in your football career thus far that you think have helped prepare you mentally and even physically to play professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Mike Wallace: There are a lot of things, life changing things. I lived through a hurricane. My brother has gone to jail. There have been things that I take off the field that help me focus on the field. I don't want to be a part of that. I don't want to go to jail. I just take my real life experiences and use that as fuel to try to make plays and try not to go home.
From Kelly Larkins in Canada: Do you see yourself as a player that enjoys making the tough catches across the middle from the slot or going after the deep ball?
Mike Wallace:Going for the deep ball. I am a home run hitter. I like to score. I can make the tough catches across the middle if that is my route. But me personally, I prefer to get it in and get off the field. Catch it, get off the field and get some Gatorade.
