LATROBE, Pa. — Jeff Hartings noticed it right away.
Each day there is a practice at Saint Vincent College that's open to the public, Steelers Nation Radio begins its wall-to-wall coverage at 9 a.m., and Hartings, the starting center on the team that won Super Bowl XL, stopped by the booth at Chuck Noll Field as part of his appearance on campus as a visiting alumnus.
After a segment during which he talked about why he chose to sign with the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent and what it was like being coached by Russ Grimm and playing next to Alan Faneca, he looked out over the field and saw the players assembling on the field for the day's practice.
"Hey, they don't have any helmets. Do they practice without helmets?"
A strange sight indeed, but it turned out to be part of Coach Mike McCarthy's plan for the team's third acclimation day.
"It's a lighter day," McCarthy told the media when asked about Friday's plan before the 10:30 a.m. practice. "It's all calculated, but it's more of an extended mock game compared to the normal mock games that we've been doing in the afternoon."
What has been apparent since the Steelers reported to Saint Vincent College this summer is that their new head coach is organized and detail-oriented. Friday's "extended mock game" was another example of that.
"It's just trying to hit all the different situations that occur throughout the game," said McCarthy, who had introduced his Steeler Six the day before. And for anyone who missed that, it was a list of 6 non-negotiable keys to victory that included ball security; blocking and getting off blocks; tackling and breaking tackles; big plays; pursuit and finish; and mannerisms and disguises.
Now, back to the concept of an extended mock game.
"You have a primary emphasis," McCarthy continued. "For instance, it's cut into two phases. The first phase is game management and special teams. One of the things throughout the years, just through experience, you get down to the first preseason game and your boundary communication, your boundary management is something that you usually just work on right before you go out.
"It's a 90-man roster. So my point is, we're hitting those things now. I don't think you can do enough situational work. The awareness of it, the importance of stressing the defense with the personnel group, having the right personnel groups, just all the little things that go into the makeup of a game. Then you get into the second part of it, like today's second part is really review of the last two days. It's a format I've always tried to go with – one or two installs, review, two installs, review. So it kind of matches the workload capacity of what you're looking for.
"As far as next week, we'll have two padded practices, a review, then we'll have three padded practices, which will be the biggest stress point, and it's more going into the Saturday night practice in downtown Latrobe. So, it's a flow that really works physically, mentally and it really gives you a chance to hit all the situations."
OBSERVATIONS
• When the Steelers have worked on punting during their special teams periods, RB Travis Homer has served as the personal protector. That is a vital role on special teams, and if Homer holds onto the role that will bode well in his bid for a spot on the 53-man roster.
• QB Will Howard delighted the biggest crowd so far this summer with a pair of touchdown passes, but both will deserve an asterisk because of the "extended mock game" circumstances that had the DBs largely playing the role of spectators. The first was a successful "Hail Mary" pulled down by WR A.T. Perry, and the second came on a seam route by WR Eli Heidenreich. But during Friday's practice, the DBs were not even attempting to make plays on the ball or break up passes thrown in their area.
UP NEXT
The Steelers will announce their 2026 Hall of Honor Class on Saturday, Aug. 1 at a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Fred Rogers Center on the Saint Vincent College campus. The day's practice then is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Players will be off on Sunday, Aug. 2.
McAFEE RETURNS TO SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE
Steelers Senior Director of Communications Burt Lauten posted the following on his X account: "The Steelers 1st padded practice is on Aug. 3 along with the @PatMcAfeeShow LIVE (Noon ET) on campus. The show will take place on the baseball field, and fans should enter near the right field foul pole after the gates open to gain access near the show. Tickets available on Steelers.com"
