LATROBE, Pa. -- As a 20-year-old, JuJu Smith-Schuster won over the hearts of Pittsburghers last season with his youthful exuberance and infectious personality. And that's to say nothing of his on-field exploits. When he wasn't riding a bike to the Rooney Complex, he was playing Fortnite into the wee hours. And when he wasn't doing that, he was choreographing elaborate touchdown celebrations.
Smith-Schuster is a year older, but not that much has changed for him personally.
"Just chemistry, man, building that with your teammates," Smith-Schuster was telling me this week. "Just a lot better."
Judging by the number of No. 19 jerseys seen around Chuck Noll Field during training camp, his popularity -- at least with fans -- rivals that of only No. 84. And, barring something unforeseen, he'll likely be the second-youngest player on the roster, ahead of only first-round pick Terrell Edmunds.
Smith-Schuster acts and talks every bit his 21 years, 8 months and 25 days, albeit in a grown man's 6-foot-1, 215-pound body.
Fortnite? Yep, the wide receiver still escapes from the rigors of his day job by playing his video games and has even tried to enlist 36-year-old Ben Roethlisberger.
"He has a family and has kids and doesn't do it as much, but I'm slowly trying to get him into it," he says.
The touchdown celebrations? You can bet more will be coming, though it's hard to see how he can possibly improve upon hide-and-seek.
The bike? Now that he has his driver's license, it has since been replaced by this sawed-off, Batmobile-looking thing he was seen driving around the bucolic campus at Saint Vincent College:
One guess whose ride this is. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/7AyRTJOSMQ
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) August 14, 2018
Professionally speaking, though, a lot has changed.
Smith-Schuster, the guy Martavis Bryant said was drafted in the second round last year to replace Sammie Coates, has since replaced both of them. With Bryant now out in Oakland, dealt to the Raiders in April, Smith-Schuster has moved into the role as the No. 2 receiver.
Sure, everyone knows who's No. 1, but after Antonio Brown -- perhaps the best player in the game -- the Steelers' likely starting receivers are Smith-Schuster and prized 22-year-old rookie James Washington. There are 791 career catches between the three of them and 733 of them are Brown's. Perhaps being a little diplomatic or mindful of a few veterans behind him on the depth chart, Smith-Schuster doesn't quite see it that way.
"You've got other guys like Hey-Bey, who's been in the league for 10 years," Smith-Schuster was saying. "He's very experienced. Justin Hunter's been in the league for six years. I think we've got a lot of experience on our receiver side. Yes, we've got a couple young guys like James Washington, some other guys who we've brought on our roster who also played in the league for a couple years. I think we're finding who we have."
Smith-Schuster's point is valid, but with respect to Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hunter and the rest, the fact remains that a lot more is riding on the 22-year-old's broad shoulders this season. The Steelers finished with the NFL's fifth-best passing offense a year ago, averaging 201.1 yards per game through the air.
The then-rookie Smith-Schuster played a large part of that, pulling in 58 receptions for a team rookie-record 917 yards -- 15.8 yards per catch -- and seven touchdowns. He finished second to only Brown in receiving yards on the Steelers and was tops among all rookies league-wide. His devastating block on Vontaze Burfict on a Monday night in Week 13 -- which cost him a one-game suspension -- elevated the kid to folk hero status locally and announced his presence as one of the most physical receivers in the game.
What can Smith-Schuster do for an encore?
"I'm never comfortable, never satisfied," he says. "Always hungry out there."
That should be a good thing for the Steelers and their youngest receiver. Both are facing humongous expectations. Pittsburgh is a legitimate Super Bowl contender,. but it's only going to go as far as its offense -- Roethlisberger, Brown, Le'Veon Bell at some point, and, yes, Smith-Schuster -- takes it.
"Pressure is what you put on yourself," new receivers coach Darryl Drake told DKPittsburghSports.com. "JuJu is the kind of guy that's been in situations, he had pressure last year. This year is just time for him to play. And the more he understands things and the more he understands the offense, the more he understands the coverages he'll see, he'll continue to grow.
"He doesn't put too much pressure on himself. He wants to be great and not press. He's playing really relaxed, really focused. It's important to him. As long as it stays important to him and he stays hungry, he'll excel."
Smith-Schuster is hardly an unknown at this point and defenses will certainly pay more attention to him this season. He has all the physical skills required to beat double coverage and can make what Mike Tomlin calls "combat catches" look routine.
"We're looking for no dropoff from last year, only to go upwards," Drake was saying. "I like what I see."
After suffering a knee injury in the spring and missing a few days in camp as a result of it (Smith-Schuster insists he is fine), the early signs are encouraging.
Obviously, Drake liked what he saw in the Steelers' preseason-opening win at Philadelphia when Smith-Schuster made the play of the game, leaping high over Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas to pull in a 71-yard TD reception from Landry Jones in the first quarter:
Then, during Tuesday's final day of training camp, Smith-Schuster outmuscled a defender to pull in Mason Rudolph's 6-yard TD pass to cap the first-team offense's two-minute drill. Smith-Schuster spiked the ball. No choreography, just raw emotion.
"He doesn't want to be good, what he wants is to be great," Drake said. "We're working on everything. As long as he continues to work and learn how to do the little things, the little things of getting open in situations and understanding the coverages, reading the safeties, those things. But he's well on his way to being a really good player. He just has to stay focused and grow."
Despite the absence of Bryant and the emergence of the two youngsters in the starting lineup, the Steelers receiving corps is still expected to rank among the best in the NFL. If that happens, Drake won't be the least bit surprised.
"They can be as good as they want to be, it's up to them," Drake said. "We give them the blueprint. They have to go out there and get it done."