Getting to Know the 2012 Steelers: DE Cameron Heyward

PRO (16-0/1-0): Drafted by the Steelers in the first round (31st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

2011 (16-0/1-0): 9/11 at Baltimore: Saw action at DE and on special teams in his first career game…had one tackle…9/18 vs. Seattle: Saw action at DE and on special teams…9/25 at Indianapolis: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had his first career QB pressure and first career pass breakup…10/2 at Houston: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had one tackle…10/9 vs. Tennessee: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had one tackle and two QB pressures…registered his first career sack and forced fumble on an eight-yard sack in the fourth quarter…10/16 vs. Jacksonville: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had one tackle…10/23 at Arizona: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had one QB pressure…10/30/11 vs. New England: Saw action on the defensive line and in the secondary…11/6/11 vs. Baltimore: Saw action at DE and on special teams…11/13 at Cincinnati: Saw action on special teams in his 10th career game…11/27 at Kansas City: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had two tackles…12/4 vs. Cincinnati: Saw action on special teams and on defense…blocked his first career kick, a potential 33-yarder by K Mike Nugent…marked the first blocked field goal for Pittsburgh in 43 games (9/10/09 vs. Tennessee)…12/8 vs. Cleveland: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had one QB pressure…12/19 at San Francisco: Saw action at DE and on special teams…12/24 vs. St. Louis: Saw action at DE and on special teams…had three tackles…1/1 at Cleveland: Saw action at DE and on special teams…AFC Wild Card 1/8 at Denver: Saw increased action at DE in place of injured DE Brett Keisel…had three tackles and one QB pressure.

COLLEGE: Started 46-of-52 games at Ohio State, missing just one start in his final 46 appearances…recorded 163 tackles (78 solos) with 15.0 sacks for minus 98 yards, 37.5 stops for losses totaling 150 yards and six quarterback pressures…recovered two fumbles, including one in the end zone for a touchdown…gained 80 yards on a pass theft and broke up five other throws…also caused two fumbles…his 80-yard fumbled interception return vs. Miami in 2010 ranks as the seventh-longest return by a Buckeye in school annals and the longest run back by a defensive lineman…majored in human development. 2010: Started all 13 games at DE…served as a team captain…earned first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors…Lombardi Award semifinalist and Lott Trophy quarterfinalist…was also named to the Nagurski and Hendricks Awards preseason watch lists…recipient of the Bill Willis Award, given by the OSU coaches to the team’s Outstanding Defensive Player…recorded a career-best 48 tackles (23 solos) that included three sacks for minus 25 yards and three quarterback pressures, as he tied for fifth in the conference with 13.0 stops for losses of 42 yards…had a pass deflection, an interception and a fumble recovery. 2009: Saw action in 13 games, starting 12 of them at DE… earned All-Big Ten Conference second-team honors…was the recipient of the Jack Stephenson Award, given by the coaching staff to the team’s Outstanding Defensive Lineman…nominated for the Lombardi Award…recorded 46 tackles (21 solos) with 6.5 sacks for minus 43 yards…registered 10 stops for losses totaling 53 yards and posted a pair of QB pressures…also recovered a fumble. 2008: Started all 13 games as a sophomore, rotating on the strong-side between end and tackle…registered 36 tackles (13 solos) with three sacks for minus 21 yards and one quarterback pressure…tied for 21st in the Big Ten Conference with 4.5 stops for losses totaling 22 yards…also caused a fumble and deflected a pass. 2007: Saw action in all 13 games, starting the final eight games at DE…earned Freshman All-American honors from Rivals.com, Scout.com and The Sporting News…also named by TSN to the Freshman All-Big Ten Conference squad…made 33 tackles (21 solos) with 2.5 sacks for minus 9 yards, as his ten stops for losses of 33 yards ranked 21st in the league…caused a fumble and deflected three passes.

PERSONAL: Attended Peachtree Ridge High School (Suwanee, Ga.)…received a four-star prospect rating from Rivals.com…that recruiting service ranked him as the seventh-best overall prospect in the state of Georgia and the 13th-best defensive tackle in the nation…Scout.com ranked him 15th overall in the state and 20th nationally at his position…a scholar-athlete, Heyward was named the 2006 Georgia Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year, helping Peachtree Ridge capture the state championship that season…produced 103 tackles with 12 quarterback sacks as a sophomore, adding two sacks with 48 stops as a junior before ending his prep career with 88 tackles and eleven sacks during his senior campaign…graduated with a 3.2 grade point average…son of former NFL and Pitt running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward and Charlotte Heyward-Blackwell…Cameron’s stepfather, Cory Blackwell, played football at Wisconsin…Full name: Cameron Phillips Heyward.

His Role with the Steelers in 2012: Heyward is going to be a force with the Steelers, and this season is the first where he will truly get to live up to his first round billing. Right now he’s listed as the backup to Brett Keisel at the RDE spot, but based on how I expect him to step up, I think Heyward is going to get a lot of playing time in 2012, and wouldn’t doubt by the end of the season if he’s a starter somewhere on the line.