LATROBE, Pa. -- Every time JuJu Smith-Schuster catches a ball at training camp, even if there isn't a defender involved, it brings cheers from the assembled crowd.
Every kid is yelling "JuJu" constantly, trying to get the young receiver's attention.
After practice, he could spend hours signing autographs and still not quench the desire of all the fans who want one.
If it sounds like familiar behavior, it's because that is how fans used to treat Antonio Brown when he was at Saint Vincent College.
Smith-Schuster, it seems, hasn't just replaced Brown as the No. 1 receiver in the Steelers offense, he's also replaced him in the hearts of Steelers fans.
At 22, Smith-Schuster is already one of the most popular players in the league. He's also poised to become one of the top receivers in the game -- if he's not already there.
It surprises even Smith-Schuster.
"I can't believe it has happened," he told me. "It's one of those things where I sit back and look in the mirror and I'm like, 'Wow. I can't believe where I'm at today.'"
And the scary thing is that he's still getting better.
"He's not even close to it," Steelers receivers coach Darryl Drake told me Sunday of Smith-Schuster's full potential.
"He's still learning. He's still absorbing. He's still growing. The sky is the limit for him. He's the kind of player that has different talents from other guys. He's not just a jet. He's a guy that has a tremendous amount of upside. And he has the right frame of mind. As long as he keeps that, stays humble and works, he'll continue to grow."
That has to be concerning to opponents.
Smith-Schuster has 169 catches for 2,343 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first two seasons, the most for any player before his 23rd birthday in NFL history. The league turns 100 this season.
In 2018, he emerged as a top threat, catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards and seven scores, winning team MVP honors in a vote of his teammates. That came working opposite Brown.
Some have questioned whether Smith-Schuster would be capable of handling the duties of being a No. 1 receiver. But three days into the team's training camp, he's looked the part, beating everyone the coaching staff puts in front of him.
Smith-Schuster isn't the fastest runner. He's not the biggest receiver out there, even though at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he has good size.
But he just finds a way to get things done.
"Football players are football players," Drake told me. "Yes, you'd like to have that blazing speed. But you look at some of the great receivers who have played the game, they didn't have blazing speed. What they did have was a great sense for the game, and determination. JuJu has that.
"And he's got a lot of pride and a lot of gifts. He uses those things. Some guys get out there and they have a lot of talent. But they don't know how to work. He has that."
Smith-Schuster uses his talents to the best of his ability. So while he's not a blazer, he has three touchdown catches of 75 or more yards in his first three seasons, including two of 97 yards.
He just seems to have a knack for getting open.
"You don't have to have blazing speed to get by people," Drake said. "It's fundamentals and technique. Corners will let you get up on them. Once you get up on them, you put your body in a position where you can make those plays. He has the ability to do that. He's deceptively fast. He's got football speed. There's a lot of guys that have football speed that don't time very well. But when you put a football in their hands, they play at a different speed."
And have a lot of fans all over the world.
Smith-Schuster saw that firsthand on a trip to London last month for the NFL. He was there to help the league establish a football academy for young players. At 22, he was just a few years older than many of the players he was there to talk to.
He might not have been mobbed as he has been at training camp, but he was recognized. A lot.
"I was surprised how many JuJu fans there were," he said. "That really got my attention. It was pretty cool."
If he continues on his current career trajectory, there will be even more.
With Brown now in Oakland, Smith-Schuster is the clear cut No. 1 receiver for the Steelers. He knows it. Opponents know it. And it still might not matter.
"He's always considered himself one of those guys, even though we did have maybe the most dominant receiver in the game," Drake said. "You see him succeed in that role. He's handled it well. He relishes it and he wants it. You just let him go. You just let him play. He's got that."