There has been reported interest for Mason Rudolph. So why aren’t the Steelers pulling the trigger? Crowley has the fear that the team will need Rudolph down the road. Poni said screw that – trade Rudolph for a late-round pick and turn that into an offensive lineman and if the team has to use Rudolph this year, they aren’t going far anyway. Poni is angered by the Steelers resting on their laurels with available players now on the open market.
Former Pitt Panther and current ESPN analyst, Louis Riddick joined the show. Poni asked Louis how Pitt stacks up against WVU Thursday night. He said they stack up well…against everybody. He talked about the QB matchup Thursday, which features Kedon Slovis and JT Daniels, who have had a rocky road to where they are now, but are both exciting signal callers. Louis has a lot of excitement for the Backyard Brawl because of how many storylines are there, besides the fact that it is one of the best rivalries in college football. He described the rivalry as “special” and said the atmosphere on Thursday night in Pittsburgh will be incredible. Louis talked about how much national coverage ESPN will provide for the game. Louis couldn’t speak highly enough of how great the Backyard Brawl is for the schools, teams and fans. Jumping to the Steelers – Louis talked about why Mitch Trubisky will be the team’s starter to begin the year over Kenny Pickett. He proceeded to say the QB isn’t the issue and the offensive line needs fixed. He expects Kenny to “reign hell” over the rest of the league when his time comes. Louis talked about the Steelers GM hiring process and what he went through vying for the job.