Brett Keisel was among the former Steelers players who spent time at training camp last week, and the visit brought back so many great memories. One of the more underrated Steelers of his generation and a two-time Super Bowl champion, Keisel loved so much about camping at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Bonding with teammates. Getting to know their families when they would visit camp. Fishing in one of nearby Ligonier’s many streams when he had time to trade the grind of football for the solitude of the woods.
One thing he doesn’t miss about camp: the practices that run hot, and not just because of the weather.
“It’s so fun to be back there and so nice to go there knowing you’re not going to have to go out there and smash people again,” Keisel told Steelers Depot Tuesday before a speaking engagement at Grandview Golf Club just outside of Pittsburgh. “My body almost starts to have PTSD [getting] off that Irwin (turnpike) exit. It’s nice going down there and being like ‘Ha ha, you guys have to go through it now.’”
To say Keisel went through it during his first Steelers training camp is an understatement.
He arrived in Latrobe as the 242nd pick of the 2002 NFL Draft. As he playfully noted to former Steelers director of football operations/GM Kevin Colbert, who also attended the annual lunch honoring Pittsburgh-area high school football coaching legends, he was the second of two Pittsburgh seventh-round picks that year.
After playing as a rush defensive end at BYU, Keisel had to learn how to play as a 3-4 end in the Steelers’ defense. Which, to a rookie whose head was already spinning, sometimes seemed as foreign as trying to write backwards.
Keisel said he knew he would struggle to make the team. And veteran defensive line coach John Mitchell had an interesting way of framing that one day, as Keisel shared during lunch.
“Ninety-nine,” Mitchell said, calling him by his jersey number, “do you know where Walmart is in Latrobe?”
Keisel said sure, and asked Mitchell if he needed something picked up from there.
“You’re going to need to pick yourself up something,” Mitchell told him. “Like a job application because it’s going to be tough for you to make this team.”
Alrighty, then.
And Mitchell, who was nothing if not a taskmaster, seemingly put Keisel on blast every damn day. He would pause the tape during a film review of practice to point out Keisel taking this step wrong or doing that wrong.
Finally, Keisel approached some of the other defensive linemen and asked, “What’s the deal with this guy?”
“Well, you know Bear Bryant coached him, and he was the first Black player at Alabama,” second-year nose tackle Casey Hampton told him. “Been through a little bit of rough stuff.”
That helped Keisel gain a better understanding of Mitchell. He also resolved to stop worrying so much about Mitchell’s nitpicking and do something every practice to stand out to the coaches.
“For me, that was kickoffs, punt return [coverage],” Keisel said. “John Fiala was our team captain on special teams, and I was like, ‘That’s who I’m going after.’ Any time I had a chance to dog him, that’s what I was trying to do. I showed enough plays, I guess, to stand out and make the team even though Mitch said I was going to get cut every day.”
In many ways, Keisel is the ultimate example to fringe-roster players who are in Steelers camp right now. He fought his way onto the 53-man roster via special teams, established himself as a core special teamer, and became a full-time starter in 2006.
Keisel retired following the 2014 season, after serving as a key cog on some great Steelers defenses, including a generational one in 2008, making a Pro Bowl, and becoming a fan favorite.
Oh, and he holds anything but ill will toward Mitchell, who retired in 2023. His tough love shaped Keisel’s rise from late-round draft pick to one of the better 3-4 NFL defensive ends for almost a decade.
“He was one of the best influences for me,” Keisel said.
