Former Mountaineer Beanie Bishop found himself as the starter on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart ahead of their first preseason game.
Bishop held the top spot of nickel corner for the Steelers, the only rookie to earn the top spot thus far.
"You go to the Steelers practice and Beanie Bishop is breaking up passes," WVU's co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach ShaDon Brown said.
Brown recently visited a Steelers practice where he saw Bishop as well as former Mountaineer Zach Frazier who is listed as a backup on the first depth chart for Pittsburgh.
"He’s a hard worker, he’s a Steeler, he fits that blue collar, that mentality. He fits [Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin, he’s a worker he’s always going to be doing more than what's required," Brown said. "He’s just a guy that’s always overachieved and that underdog mentality he embraced that, he loves that. He doesn’t want to be on top, he wants to be fighting from the bottom. He’ll make their 53 [man roster] and he’ll make plays for them. It’s a shame they didn’t draft him but that’s OK, they’ll have to pay him at some point."
Brown is not the only coach who has taken notice of the performances from Bishop. WVU head coach Neal Brown has also seen Bishop's success and said he's not surprised one bit.
"I reached out to him. They’re there for a reason and that’s what I try to communicate to them. Don’t give them a reason to say no. I’m zero surprised on Beanie. He was here most of the summer soon as they got done with mandatory OTAs, he’s a football player," Brown said. "Maybe he doesn’t check off the size, but he’s a football player. I fully expect him to make the roster."
Bishop will get his first crack at things on Friday when the Steelers host the Houston Texans in their first preseason game.
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