5 college passers the Steelers should keep tabs on in 2021
By Brendan Howe
The Steelers could be looking for a franchise quarterback in 2021. Here are five passers they should keep tabs on this season.
If healthy, it’s not at all hard to guess who’s going to be behind center for the Steelers this fall. Who it will be to fill Ben Roethlisberger’s shoes, on the other hand, is as easy to answer as it was for onlookers to spot players in the blanketing haze of the Fog Bowl.
For the better part of 17 years, Roethlisberger has been the face of a franchise and city. Inferring that his storied career will come to an end after the 2021 campaign, Big Ben will be replaced by a more energetic arm.
A couple of months ago, Pittsburgh fans waited to see if the team would add a possible heir through the NFL Draft. Justin Fields and Mac Jones were off the board before the front office could even debate choosing them.
Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert buckled down on Roethlisberger’s assumed last go-round, plucking offensive talent with its first four draft choices. The team did bring Roland Rivers of Slippery Rock in for rookie minicamps, but no contract offer was made afterward.
While Najee Harris, Pat Friermuth, and Kendrick Green will hopefully help a more well-rounded unit, it’s nearing time that the Steelers bring in a burgeoning triggerman—especially with a trio of Heisman winners slinging passes for the other AFC North squads.
Next spring’s draft figures to offer a shallower class, but, having little idea which passers will go and when fans have a reason to keep an eye on these five prospects come September.
Kedon Slovis
Joining the Trojans as a three-star recruit with only a half-dozen Power Five offers, it’s safe to say that nobody foresaw Kedon Slovis showing J.T. Daniels the door at Southern Cal.
Slovis arrived at USC in 2019, catching enough attention to ascend into the team’s backup role as a rookie. When the incumbent Daniels’ season was cut short by a knee injury in the opener, Slovis was given his chance. Then, he accomplished feats that not even Carson Palmer nor Matt Barkley could in their novice campaigns.
In his first start, against Stanford, he turned heads with the most yards, touchdowns, and completions by a true freshman Trojan passer in his starting debut. He rounded out the year as the Pac-12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year, with 3,502 yards and 30 scores.
Recognizably accurate, he broke Andrew Luck’s freshman record by connecting on 71.9% of his deliveries. Slovis sports a 70.0% career completion percentage, which is tops in program history heading into this fall.
Daniels jumped ship when Slovis retained the top spot on the depth chart entering last summer. Slovis continued on to guide the Men of Troy through an undefeated—albeit, abbreviated—in-conference regular season schedule.
Overall, in a six-game campaign, Slovis passed for 1,921 yards and 17 touchdowns, compared to 7 interceptions. The Trojans fell short to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game and opted out of playing in a bowl game.