- **
What you want:** It's not often you get what you want, but that was the case for Artie Burns when the Steelers drafted him in the first round on Thursday night, the 25th pick overall. The cornerback from Miami said the Steelers were the team he hoped would pick him, and he got just what he wanted.
"After meeting with Mike Tomlin, he was one of the coolest coaches I've met," said Burns. "The players really relate to him. They want to play for him. When he talked to me, I could tell that everything he was saying was legit. He seemed like a genuine person. The way he carries himself, he just has so much swag. Swag that's so natural for a head coach.
"It has always been a great organization. They play zone defense."
Steelers Nation: Burns also said he was excited to be drafted by the Steelers because it's a team he has watched since he was young, and he fits the type of defense Keith Butler runs.
"They're known as a tough defense," said Burns. "I'm that kind of guy. I've been watching the Steelers defense since I was young. That's always been my team since I was young. I always idolized them, year in and year out."
**
Speedster:** Burns didn't just excel for Miami on the football field, but also on the track where he excelled in the 110 meter hurdles. Burns said it was important for him to devote himself to both sports, and it showed as he won All-ACC honors the last two years.
"I'm just a pure athlete," said Burns. "I never put one sport in front of the other. I always treated them the same. I just dedicated my time to both of them."
Facing adversity: Burns has definitely grown from the adversity he has faced in life, from his father going to jail when he was in the fourth grade, to his mother suddenly dying from a heart attack last October and having to raise his younger brothers. He has grown as a man, and as an athlete with what he has been through.
"It's definitely helped me through different situations that I've had to deal with," said Burns. "Tough situations that forced me to stop. I was just facing adversity. You know it helped me a lot, going through all of that and it helped on the field."
