In 3rd year with Steelers, Miles Killebrew an unquestioned leader of Steelers’ special-teams
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The uphill walk is long and meandering from the artificial turf field in the back corner of the Saint Vincent College football complex to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training-camp locker room on campus.
Miles Killebrew had a companion in making it after Sunday’s morning walkthrough — special teams coordinator Danny Smith.
That was not a coincidence. After all, the man who designs the Steelers’ myriad kick and punt sets and schemes has a proverbial set of eyes on the field in the man who is the unit’s captain.
“If I can, I want to know his brain and what he’s thinking” Killebrew said Sunday. “When I’m out there on the field, it definitely helps because this is a fast game. The more time I spend with him, the more I understand what we’re trying to do, the more time I spend with the guys, the more we mesh and have a fluid game.”
Killebrew is entering his third season with the Steelers, and presumably next month will be named a captain for the second consecutive season. A safety by trade, the 30-year-old Killebrew was elected a captain by teammates last season. He’s one of only two of the six Steelers who played the most special teams snaps in 2022 who returns in 2023, and the other (Connor Heyward) is just entering his second season and figures to have a more significant role on offense this season.
Additionally, Killebrew has succeeded Marcus Allen as the “personal protector” on punts, a gig often called “the quarterback” of that unit because he’s making the calls and is most responsible for everyone’s assignments.
“So with that new role, I have new responsibilities,” said Killebrew, an eight-year NFL veteran. “I have new communications that I have to say, and that’s another reason I want to be in Danny’s ear so that it can become second nature. We are going through it together, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Not as much fun, Killebrew says, as blocking punts — something he did three times in less than a year’s time during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, including two during his first season with the Steelers. Though all Killebrew managed in 2022 was merely getting his fingers on a punt that altered its length — “tips don’t count” as blocks, he said — the blocks are an example of the type of “splash” that Killebrew can bring to a team.
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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 12, 2021
Of course, that’s in addition to his savvy in making calls and his reliability in not missing a game and playing the most special-teams snaps for the Steelers over the past two seasons. The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Killebrew, too, has a role on defense as a subpackage safety, often in short-yardage. He’s played 57 defensive snaps over two seasons with the Steelers, and on Sunday appeared to play some as an inside linebacker hybrid.
“If you’re willing to put your hand in the pile, you’ll be here,” Killebrew said of the Steelers. “And that’s something that I’ve been trying to do metaphorically and literally, put my hand in the pile and do what’s needed. And it’s been fun, man, it’s been a great time building these relationships with these guys.”
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