It’s a challenging journey to make it to the NFL, one that is more complicated by a walk-on at an obscure school.
But Steelers rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith did it. And he always knew he had it in him.
At age six, he started playing organized football and never looked back. Not only did he have a passion for football, but he also loved basketball and baseball and was a three-sport athlete at Eugene Ashley High School, just outside of his hometown of Wilmington, N.C.
Despite Screaming Eagles accolades that included Most Improved Player, team captain and MVP with second-team All-Area and first-team All-Mideastern Conference, scholarships just weren’t there.
After high school, Highsmith rolled the dice with UNC-Charlotte, whose football program was less than five years old. In 2015, he joined the 49ers as a walk-on and redshirted his true freshman season.
“I had to prove that I could go out there and play with those guys on the starting lineup,” Highsmith told Steelers Wire in an exclusive interview in June. “I was on the scout team my freshman year, so I had to go out there and make those guys better. Not only was I making them better, but I was also making myself better by going against them. I had to show that I could do it.”
Highsmith also understands the avenue he can take to get on the field sooner with the Steelers.
“Special teams are so vital, so important,” acknowledged Highsmith. “I know I can play a key role in special teams, especially starting out [with the Steelers], because I know how important they are. Special teams can win or lose games, and that’s kind of how I worked my way up in college; starting on special teams and then working my way up into more of a defensive role.”
Highsmith worked diligently and earned a scholarship the summer before his redshirt sophomore season. All the while, in the back of his mind, was the eventual goal of going pro.
“It’s always been a dream of mine,” said Highsmith. “I always felt like I could reach that goal with my work ethic. But it wasn’t really a reality then, of course, me being a walk-on.”
A life-changing move
Highsmith is a sponge for the game. His strong work ethic and desire to make a smooth transition from Division I to the NFL motivate him. It also helped that his parents — his mom, Pam, a high school calculus teacher, and his dad, Sam, a grade school principal — always had high expectations of him.
“[The pros] really started becoming a reality for me when I was in junior year when I made All-Conference for the first time,” continued Highsmith. “I had a good year, so that was my first year starting. So that’s really when everything started becoming a reality for me, but it’s kind of like I said, the NFL was something that I felt like I could achieve.”
As a junior, Highsmith enjoyed a breakout 2018 campaign with a career-best in tackles (60), tackles for loss (18) and sacks (3).
Before his senior season, Highsmith changed from a 4-technique lineman to a pass-rusher and continued dominating. “I developed a passion for rushing the passer, and it was life-changing,” shared Highsmith.
Steelers play it cool
Highsmith’s final season would prove to be his best. He contributed 75 tackles (21 for loss) and 14 sacks, which was the next-level potential that led to more frequent visits by the NFL, including scouts from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Highsmith said he was worried because there was no interaction with Steelers scouts at Charlotte fall camp, the East-West Shrine Bowl or the NFL Combine. “I was like, ‘Oh, do they like me?'” he said.
He still thinks about his most memorable moment at Charlotte. “My senior year, we played our rival Marshall. We were playing them in the Senior Night game at home. We were 5-5, so we had the chance to be Bowl-eligible for the first time in school history.”
“We ended up winning that game 24-13, something like that, in front of our home crowd in the pouring rain to be bowl eligible for the first time. Our fans stormed the field after, and all my family was there. It was definitely the best moment in my career at Charlotte for sure.”
Highsmith concluded his 48-game college career with 185 tackles (46 for loss) and 20 sacks.
From keep pounding to…
Being a native Carolinian, naturally, Highsmith was raised a Panthers fan. “[Linebacker] Julius Peppers and [wide receiver] Steve Smith were my two favorites growing up,” he said. “I still remember watching the Super Bowl when the Panthers played the Patriots. They lost, I was devastated.”
Nowadays, he’s watching — on film and in the flesh — the best linebacking duo in the business: T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. “I have been watching all the Steelers guys,” said Highsmith. “Bud and T.J. are two of the best in the league, so I love watching them… I am truly blessed and so excited to be able to learn from them and contribute any way I can. I have already learned a lot from them already — just little things like my pass-rush game, studying film and stuff like that.”
“So, [T.J. and Bud are] some of the guys I try to model my game after, as well as Von Miller and Khalil Mack, guys like that,” he added. “I like to use different moves that other guys use as well, like Demarcus Lawrence [Dallas Cowboys] and Yannick Ngakoue [Jacksonville Jaguars]. They have a cross trap that I watch them do and try to emulate.”
… Here we go
Even though the Steelers were in attendance at camps in Charlotte and at bowl games, Highsmith didn’t have any clear indication that Pittsburgh was interested in him.
He wasn’t certain he was even on their radar until a pre-draft FaceTime call with head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert. “After that call we had, I thought it went really well,” Highsmith said. “I definitely knew that they had an interest in me after that.”
On day two of the NFL Draft, the interest was solidified.
“The night of the draft, I was like, ‘Please, please, please.’ Then I got the call, and that was it,” Highsmith said, reliving the moment. “My phone goes off, it’s a number from Pennsylvania. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and everyone just got quiet. I picked up the phone and it was just so surreal. Words can’t explain it. I’m still thinking about it. It was a moment I’ll never forget — just hearing Coach Tomlin’s voice, it was so awesome.”
“The Steelers are the team I wanted to go to mainly because I know that they run up three, four, just they have outside backers that stand up to rush the passer,” Highsmith said.
“I’m just so thankful and blessed to be part of this organization.”
Rookie beginnings
Instead of rookie orientation and minicamps, Highsmith’s first taste of the pros was via Zoom meetings.
Though Highsmith said the pandemic has made things “weird” and “different,” that’s all it is. “I just knew that I couldn’t let the circumstances affect how I work and how I grind,” he said.
“My confidence hasn’t wavered because of this. I’m someone who doesn’t get rattled by adversity. Whatever I can do to be the best that I can be, no matter what the adversity is, I’m still going to do it. I’ve been preparing over these past three or four months to be in that position, so I’ll have to be able to get in there and be able to pass rush.”
“Like I said, there are definitely different circumstances for [rookies], not being able to do OTAs, not being able to have preseason games, but just making the most of it and doing what I can day-to-day, week-to-week to help contribute to winning win championship number seven.”
Highsmith knew that, once he got to camp, it would be all systems go. He eliminated distractions that he knew would come with working virtually and ferociously poured over the playbook every day, studying the defense and strategies.
He worked equally as hard with cardio conditioning, position drills, biking and yoga. “I’m in the best shape of my life because I knew whenever I got [to Pittsburgh], the ball is going to roll. This train is going to go. It’s not going to stop. So I can’t get left behind.”
Soon after he arrived in Pittsburgh, Highsmith began training with his new defensive line teammates. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward arranged a workout with defensive line specialist Brandon Jordan. “It was awesome to be able to work out with Cam, Stephon Tuitt, Dan [McCullers], Tyson Alualu, some of the other guys as well, and Brandon Jordan,” Highsmith said in a training camp press conference. “Brandon is just so good at what he teaches.”
Another one of Highsmith’s teachers, defensive coordinator Keith Butler, likes what he sees from his new linebacker so far. “We like what he looks like right now,” Butler said to the media earlier in training camp. “I want to see what he does when we get pads on. He seems to be a very sharp kid. I think he can help us with depth in terms of the outside linebackers.”
Like any pro athlete, Highsmith has goals. “Short term, I want to do whatever I can and to help this team win number seven this year. We all have that championship goal in our mind, so that’s what we’re all working for it because we know we have the team for it.”
While he’s gunning for the seventh Lombardi, he wants to excel as a rookie, both on defense and special teams. “But overall, it’s that main short term goal is I want to help bring number seven to the Steel City.”
Long term? “I’m going to strive, to the best of my ability, to be a Hall of Fame player.”
Check out the Alex Highsmith Charlotte highlight reel on Steelers.com.
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