When Chase Claypool was drafted this spring, it was by an organization renowned for its lineage of hard-working and productive wide receivers.
Aside from his physical traits of frame, speed and catching radius, the Steelers were attracted to Claypool’s work habits.
In his senior year, Claypool earned the University of Notre Dame Monogram Club Most Valuable Player, which honors a student-athlete who displays a strong work ethic and commitment to the team before self.
Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is excited to see that work ethic Claypool displayed at Notre Dame hasn’t missed a beat in Pittsburgh.
“That’s exciting because that isn’t an easy thing to do early for a young wide receiver,” Fichtner said. “We’ve had many really, really great wide receivers come through here and he’s right in that same mode of work-work-work, shut up. That’s how he attacks his day.”
The “great wide receivers” Fichtner is referring to are Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, all of whom Fichtner has coached over the years.
Hines Ward
Ward embodied the work ethic and toughness that the Steelers stand for. It’s part of what made him one of the league’s best possession receivers and blockers in the league.
He prided himself on hard work, whether it was in the film room, the weight room or on the field, and it showed in every game.
Mike Wallace
Wallace had the luxury to watch and learn from Hines Ward. With that, Wallace took the work habits that already existed in him and built upon it. Up until his unreasonable contract demands sent him packing out of Pittsburgh, his exemplary penchant for grinding was a trait the Steelers loved about him.
Antonio Brown
We can all knock Brown on his immaturity and how it ruined his (what could’ve been legendary) career. But one thing was for certain in Pittsburgh, Antonio Brown was a hard worker.
His incessant, near-OCD approach to note-taking, studying film, and keeping in football shape is part of what made him one of the best receivers in the NFL. Even with all of the receptions, all of the yards, all of the touchdowns, Brown never rested on his laurels. He possessed a constant drive to outdo himself.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
“I learned it by watching you!” Just like the Ward-Wallace mentorship before, Smith-Schuster had with Brown. His work ethic is so litty that he practices after practice, and if he messes up a set off the Juggs machine, he starts all over again. He walks that fine line between light-hearted and serious and never stumbles.
The standard…
As we know, “the standard is the standard” in Pittsburgh.
When asked to explain what his oft-used phrase means, Tomlin responded, “I don’t know.” Perhaps he’s keeping the meaning of his team’s recipe for success a secret. The phrase is important enough for the organization that it’s proudly displayed in steel on the walls of their facility.
And Chase Claypool caught on very quickly to “the standard”. Right along with his Steelers teammates, he lives it, breathes it and shows it. As long as Chase continues to do so, it needs no explanation.
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