Steelers hoping two former SEC standouts can lockdown outside linebacker position
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The Steelers reached into the SEC well in recent drafts to help transition an older defense to a young and athletic core built around athletic pass rushers in Georgia’s Jarvis Jones and Kentucky’s Bud Dupree. Jones was selected No. 17 overall in the 2013 draft while Dupree was selected No. 22 overall in 2015.
Desperate for each player to finally break out at the NFL level, Pittsburgh’s second-year defensive coordinator Keith Butler has singled out both defenders as two that will be looked upon to finish the job on the defensive end this season. Butler went so far as to call out each players conditioning early in camp.
“If they’re tiring out, then we need to have them out of there,” Butler said to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Most of the games are won in the third and fourth quarter. We prefer to do that … and we prefer (to do it) with Bud and Jarvis. We don’t want to keep anyone from playing. What we’re trying to do is win ballgames and put the best guys on the field we can.”
In his first year at the NFL level, Dupree managed to rack up 24 tackles and four sacks. Now entering his second season with the Steelers, the former Kentucky standout looks to play a larger role on the Steelers defense in the upcoming season.
“I heard we’re going to try to narrow the rotation down and keep me and Jarvis on the field,” Dupree said Sunday. “The more reps the better. Anything is good. I always want to be on field.”
Now fully acclimated to the NFL with a full season under his belt, Dupree feels confident he was the mental aspect of the game down.
“It’s just being more comfortable on the field, having more people trusting you and expecting more things of you,” Dupree said. “I just got to go out and perform. I just feel way more comfortable, way more relaxed, on the field. I’m ready for the season to kickoff and ready to get back going.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
