Most 20-year-olds are worrying about what classes they're going to take in college next year, the latest video game that came out or getting a better-paying job.
For Devin Bush Jr., his concerns got a whole lot greater Thursday night.
At some point in the next few months, the Steelers' No. 1 draft pick will become a millionaire when he signs his first NFL contract. In the meantime, he's got a bevy of other things to concern himself with, including where he'll live in a city in which he'd never been to prior to Friday, and incorporating himself into a new locker room.
It can be a lot for a young man to take in.
"Yeah, but I signed up for this," Bush told me Friday after his initial press conference with the Steelers. "I knew I was getting myself into this."
That he did, thanks to a father that had a lengthy career in the NFL, as well.
A former first-round pick of the Falcons in 1995, Devin Bush Sr. played eight seasons in the NFL for the Falcons, the Rams and the Browns.
The hard-hitting safety won a national championship at Florida State, then a Super Bowl championship with the Rams. He's currently an assistant coach at Michigan and did a three-week internship with the Steelers at training camp last year.
His eldest son was born in 1998, right in the middle of his dad's career. And though the younger Bush, who will wear No. 55 for the Steelers, has no vivid memories of watching his dad play, he was always aware of what his father did for a living.
"They said I used to watch a lot of his games," the younger Bush told me. "I would sit down and watch the game from the first quarter all the way until the fourth quarter. I always knew which one was my father. But I don't remember any plays. It definitely fed the beast. I thought everybody's dad played football when I was growing up. I thought that was what dads do. It was definitely something I looked up to. I was like, 'Wow, I wonder if I can do that too?'"
He doesn't have to wonder any longer.
The Steelers traded up in the first round of the draft Thursday night, sending their top pick (20), second-round pick (66) and next year's third-round pick to the Broncos for the 10th selection and the opportunity to select Bush, a hard-hitting inside linebacker from Michigan. That's the highest the Steelers have selected a defensive player in the draft since Rod Woodson in 1987.
I asked if he was aware of Woodson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"I know exactly who that is," Bush told me. "My gosh."
My gosh indeed.
The move up in the first round also marked just the third time in Kevin Colbert's tenure as GM that the Steelers have moved up in the first round to acquire a player.
The first came in 2003, when the Steelers went up to get Troy Polamalu, who likely will be voted into the Hall of Fame this year in his first year of eligibility. The other was former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes in 2006.
That's some heady company.
"That's OK, because I want to be both of those things," Bush said matter-of-factly.
It's not cockiness. That wasn't a brash statement.
Bush just knows exactly who he is. He has always known what he wanted to be thanks to his father, who also served as his high school football coach in Flanagan, Fla.
He does, however, admit the fact the Steelers -- a team that had shown a lot of interest in him in the pre-draft process -- moving up to get him was a big deal.
"The way I go about it, they did what they did. It's crazy that they did it because it's unusual for them," Bush told me. "But they believed in me. And I believe in myself. I know what type of player I am. They know what type of player I am. They just go hand in hand. I'm just going to go out there and do what I do best."
What he does best is tackle. And run. And cover.
At 5-foot-11, 234 pounds, Bush is the answer to what NFL teams are looking for at the inside linebacker position in today's NFL.
And he comes from a program coached by former NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh. This is a kid who has been around NFL players and coaching all of his life.
Now, he'll take that next step.
This is Bush's first visit to Pittsburgh. He'll get a walkthrough at Heinz Field Saturday after getting what he hopes is a good night's sleep Friday.
But he was impressed with the ride through the Fort Pitt Tunnel, which opens directly into a full-scale view of the city.
"It was crazy. It was like Jurassic Park, the little entrance," he told me. "It was cool to be able to take it all in, to see where I'm about to play football. I'm just so happy to be here. So happy, so grateful."
In that reply, he sounded much more like the 20-year-old he is.
With so much riding on this pick, the Steelers will want more. Heck, Bush will want more. That just seems to be how he's wired.
But, at the end of it all, he's still just a 20-year-old, finding his way through the process.
"Just the other day, I was in high school," he told me. "I was a ninth grader walking in and I'm about to play football for this high school and see where it takes me. Now, I'm 20 years old and in the Steelers' facility, I'm shaking hands and taking numbers and talking about defenses, where I'm going to live. It's a whole bunch of crazy things now. Just a minute ago, I was a student-athlete. Now, I'm a professional overnight. It's crazy."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

