Sports
Former Bowie State Star Helping Steelers
Isaac Redman gives Pittsburgh offense a lift with his play at running back.
Former Bowie State star Isaac Redman has worked his way into a valuable role with the Pittsburgh Steelers once again.
Redman is backing up starting running back Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield of the defending AFC champions. And even though Redman hasn’t gotten as many touches in recent games, he’s almost matched his statistics from 2010 even though Pittsburgh is just halfway through the season.
Redman now has run for 220 yards and one touchdown. He’s also caught 11 passes for 55 yards through the team’s first nine games.
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Last year, Redman ran for 247 yards all season and caught nine passes for 72 yards. He finished with a total of three touchdowns.
The 6-foot, 230-pound running back has made his mark due to his powerful straight-ahead style. He gives the Steelers some good punch off the bench and isn’t afraid to run right into traffic at the line of scrimmage.
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“You can’t do too much dancing in the backfield,” Redman said on Bleacher Report. “That is how we lose yards. I would rather have a zero-yard run than a loss.”
The only problem that Redman’s had this season is that Pittsburgh’s suddenly fallen in love with the passing game. Ben Roethlisberger threw 50 times against the Patriots two weeks ago as the Steelers have a speedy group of receivers.
But they need Redman’s help on the ground. All good teams must be able to run the ball to have balance, and those teams also must have depth. Translation: you can’t rely just on one running back.
That’s why Redman is important to the Steelers. He helps give them the depth they need to remain successful on offense.
However, Redman also has needed to prove himself a bit, coming from a small school like Bowie State. He feels he’s done that already and would like people to realize how the Steelers need him.
“A lot of people are shocked that I’m doing good, but people that haven’t been following me, people that don’t know what type of player I am think ‘Oh, he came from Bowie State’,” Redman told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “They don’t know the whole background to everything. I’m not a Division II football player. I’m sick of people saying that I am from a small college. “
But he’s making his mark in a very big way.
