LATROBE, Pa. -- Pressley Harvin III is in a good place.
He's in great shape, down some 35 to 40 pounds from a year ago when his weight ballooned up to 285 pounds at times. And the second-year punter also is happy to put the 2021 season in his rearview mirror, even if it was one he'll certainly never forget.
Drafted by the Steelers in the seventh round a year ago, Harvin dealt with many of the usual trials and tribulations of adjusting to life as a rookie in the NFL. But he also dealt with much, much more.
Harvin was struggling with his consistency, especially later in the season. But it wasn't necessarily because he was dealing with weather issues or just the regular struggles of being a rookie in the NFL.
Harvin learned in November that his father was dying, something that would affect anyone. His grandmother also was dealing with an illness.
Dec. 19, the Steelers brought the Harvin family to the team's home game against the Titans. But when Harvin struggled with a kick early in that game, the boos rained down on him.
It wasn't pretty, as many fans didn't know his situation.
Harvin's father died days later on Christmas Day, keeping him from traveling with the team to a game in Kansas City. His grandmother passed away the following week.
"I took it with a grain of salt because not everyone knew the situation at the time," Harvin admitted Saturday as the Steelers completed their fourth day of training camp here at Saint Vincent College. "It weighed on me a little bit at first. But I had to put a smile on my face because no matter what that opportunity looked like, no matter what that punt looked like, he got a chance to see me that last game.
"Fans only see that 60 minutes of the game. They don’t see the whole global aspect of our lives and everything we go through. The outreach and support I got after I made it public for everyone, it made me feel more comfortable with myself and the situation because it was stressful at first. I always knew I had the whole organization behind my back."
They've stuck there. And there's certainly less back than Harvin had at times in 2021. While dealing with everything off the field, Harvin's weight ballooned up to 285 pounds at times, well above his listed weight of 255 pounds.
But he's far lighter this year, down 35 to 40 pounds.
"I think the biggest thing was finding the motivation for myself and finding the punter that I know I can be," the 2020 Ray Guy Award winner as the best punter in the nation said. "The biggest thing I’ve been working on all offseason is finding the consistency in life and in football. I took the time to say a prayer every day and let God guide me where I need to go. I got that competitive edge right away in the offseason and I just went from there. It’s been good. It was something necessary for me and the team, too."
He knew he had to move on from what was a poor rookie season. A big-legged kicker in college at Georgia Tech, Harvin struggled to find consistency in 2021. He averaged 42.6 yards per kick last season, but there were too many poor kicks mixed in with the booming attempts that won him the job in training camp a year ago in a battle with veteran Jordan Berry.
"It was tough," Harvin said of trying to stay focused a year ago. "We stayed positive through the whole thing. I had the guys and the organization behind me through the whole thing. They were there for me and my family. That was the biggest thing, just to keep me going every single day. The more I look back at it, I’m thankful for how it actually went down. I was able to be there with my dad, be there with my grandma when the time came. Also, when I needed to be with the team, I was able to come back and be with the team and have my brothers’ backs the way they had mine.
"The biggest thing I took away from it was that the Rooney family has that mentality, ‘family, faith and football.’ That’s exactly what felt last year, and I grew closer to a lot of the guys last year during that time. They all reached out when wasn’t in the facility."
The Steelers hope that pays dividends in 2022. But they have to be pleased with how Harvin has attacked the offseason.
He worked out constantly once the season ended. He changed his diet. He found some inner peace with what was a very trying year.
Harvin tried to compartmentalize everything he was going through. But that's easier said than done for someone who had just turned 23 last September.
"I tried to, but being in my rookie season and never being in that position in my life, I tried to not make any emotional decisions," Harvin said. "Some decisions were really tough. With him passing on Christmas Day, we were also leaving for Kansas City for the game. That was one of the toughest decisions I had to make. The more I look back at it, it could have been done a little bit differently. I’m not saying good or bad decisions. But it made me a better man. I had that last game with my dad. And we were on our way back home to South Carolina after that game, the last thing he ever told me was to handle my business. I thought he was just telling me about football. But he was talking about life, too.
"You’re always going to have to make decisions about things. He didn’t want to burden me, feeling that I had to be there the entire time. I found out a couple of weeks before that. He told me, ‘Don’t feel like you have to be here with me. I had my time with you. I made you the man you need to be.’"
It seems like it sunk in pretty well. And Pressley Harvin II would be proud of how his son came through the situation.
"The biggest thing I got from that was that you can’t let one decision dictate the rest of your life," Harvin said. "He said, ‘Don’t let the current situation this family is in taint your future family’s decisions and situation in life.’ Sometimes, you’re going to have to make hard decisions, but I knew he was going to be there with me no matter what. That’s my global aspect on this season. I have no stress any more. I feel completely confident in myself again. I haven’t felt that — I felt real cloudy last year for a while. Now, I have that confidence back. I have that edge and mentality that I need to have. I’m just excited to be back here again, having the opportunity to show people who the real Pressley Harvin is on and off the field."
• The Steelers' offense is struggling. There's no ifs ands or buts about that.
The defense is usually ahead of the offense at this point. But with so many moving parts and young players on the offense, it's looked downright ugly at times for the offense in the first week of this training camp.
We'll see if the offense starts to gain its footing starting Monday when the pads come on.
• It also wouldn't hurt if all the weapons were healthy. Saturday's practice saw Diontae Johnson on the sideline continuing his hold in, while Chase Claypool (shoulder) and Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) also were missing.
It's no wonder this was another tough day for the offense.
• That said, Anthony Miller looks good. The fifth-year wide receiver really has nice stop-start ability that makes him tough to corral in the open field after the catch.
Another veteran receiver, Miles Boykin also made a couple of nice catches down the field in this practice.
Miller is a former second-round pick of the Bears, while Boykin was a third-round pick of the Ravens. Claiming those kind of guys is like finding $20 on the sidewalk.
• Mason Rudolph continues to look the best of the Steelers quarterbacks -- at least the ones who are throwing passes in team drills.
Rudolph is attacking down the field and throwing with nice anticipation. He made one really nice pass down the seam to Boykin for a big gain Saturday and also had a nice flip to Anthony McFarland that he snuck past linebacker Ulysees Gilbert on a crossing route.
But Rudolph also has been in this offense longer. It would be more surprising if he didn't look the best.
• Mitch Trubisky stayed well after practice Saturday working for an extra half an hour with Johnson, Miller and Cody White on deep outs and sideline balls.
The ball jumps out of his hand better than either Rudolph or Kenny Pickett. Once he settles in, he'll be fine.
• Pickett continues to hold the ball too long, which is a common rookie mistake.
One of the reasons Rudolph looks better than the other guys is because he's being decisive because he is sure of what he's seeing. Another reason is because he's working against the second-team defense.
Pickett will get there once he gets more decisive.
• This defense has a chance to be really good. T.J. Watt had a ridiculous one-handed interception of Trubisky Saturday, reading a screen and getting himself into the passing lane.
In fact, there have been a lot of batted balls in this camp thus far as defenders are being really active with their hands while rushing. That can't be an accident.
Cam Heyward and Tyson Alualu, who still isn't practicing, have been good at that for a while. So has Watt. Others seem to be catching on.
• I think people are really sleeping on Genard Avery as an outside linebacker for this team.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Avery is one of the stars of backs on backers on Monday when the team puts the pads on. At 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, he's built low to the ground and he's explosive. He ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at his college pro day at Memphis.
That quickness shows up off the snap.
• I've been doing this for a long, long time. Saturday's crowd was the largest I've seen for a training camp practice in my 29 years doing so.
It was amazing to see.
And when newly announced Hall of Honor member Heath Miller walked out onto the field with his wife, three sons and daughter all wearing No. 83 jerseys, the crowd responded how you'd expect. "Heeeeaaath."
That's what makes this a special setting.
The place was packed.
