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Monday, April 17, 2000 By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Correction/Clarification: (Published April 18, 2000) Tom Ricketts was drafted in the first round by the Steelers in 1989, making him the team’s highest draft selection from the University of Pittsburgh since Paul Martha was selected in the first round in 1964. A story in yesterday’s editions on cornerback Hank Poteat, who was drafted by the Steelers in the third round, gave the year of Martha’s selection incorrectly and omitted mention of Ricketts.
Hank Poteat has made some fortuitous moves in his life. First, from Philadelphia, where he couldn't always play football. "They didn't have grass there," he said. "Everyone played basketball." Then to Harrisburg, where he played football and played it well.
Penn State wanted him. The University of Pittsburgh wanted him. But the Nittany Lions wanted him to be a defensive back, so he chose Pitt, which need running backs.
But a funny thing happened to Hank Poteat a couple years ago. He decided he wanted to move back to defense because he was playing behind Billy West and Dwayne Schulters at running back. He asked his coach, Walt Harris, who told him to make a decision
"It was up to me," Poteat said. "My first instinct was to stay on offense. Once I learned what I was supposed to do, it became fun."
"It was for his best interests and for the best interests of the football team," Harris said. "He'd have a better chance of playing for us and he'd have a better chance at the next level by being a defensive back."
Harris remembered all this yesterday, a day after the Steelers selected Poteat, a 5-foot-9, 195-pound cornerback, with their second pick on the third round. And he remembered Poteat's reaction when he talked to him late Saturday night.
"He was thrilled when I talked to him," Harris said, "and appreciative of the move."
Both from Philadelphia and from running back.
Now his latest move isn't a big one at all, at least not in distance. He goes across town to the Steelers, a team looking for some depth at corner, but, more important, a team not averse to finding a player who can return punts and kickoffs.
Poteat has done both for two years at Pitt, and he was seventh in the nation, first in the Big East in punt returns last season (16.2-yard average.).
Poteat, who was selected 77th overall, is the highest Pitt player drafted by the Steelers since Tom Ricketts was drafted in the first round in 1989. Paul Martha was taken No. 1 in 1964.
"Coming out of high school, I was very offensive-minded," Poteat said. "I really didn't like playing defense. As I got older and realized that I wasn't an offensive player at the next level, I developed an attitude to play defense and I started to understand the game more as far as playing defense and what a corner has to do.
"I just took my ability, as far as my quickness and strength on the offensive side, and just brought it over to the defensive side."
In particular, Poteat's ball-hawking skills are what intrigued the Steelers. And defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, who recruited Poteat to Pitt when he was a Panthers assistant coach, liked his "feel" for the game and the way he explodes toward a receiver.
"I like to make the receiver think," is the way Poteat described it. "When the ball is in the air, I like to attack the ball."
It's why Poteat, in his first year as a full-time starter, ranked among the national leaders with six interceptions. Last year, his interception total was cut in half, but a lot of that was because opposing teams stayed away from him and threw at cornerback Demetrius Rich, a redshirt freshman. Poteat may not be the big corner the Steelers seem to covet, but he has not let that stand in his way.
"It's so hard to find a guy who can run and change his hips and know when those guys are going to change directions," Harris said. "And it's very difficult to find tall guys who can do that."
There is little room for Poteat to be a regular in the Steelers' defense. He was not brought in to challenge Chad Scott or Dewayne Washington. But he could end up being an extra back in the dime defense because he is more physical than backup cornerback Deshea Townsend.
"He's rushed some in the past, and he's got the instincts and feel for rushing," Lewis said. "He's obviously got the ability to play on the edge, which is what we drafted him for."
Lewis, the first-year defensive coordinator, has known Poteat since he was a 17-year-old junior at John Harris High School in Harrisburg. By then, he was exhibiting the skills that made him a Street & Smith's and Blue Chip Illustrated All-American as a senior.
But he wanted to be a running back, and he was -- for five games his freshman season at Pitt. He began the 1997 season as a tailback, then made the decision to move to corner. Poteat started the final four games that season, cementing his spot as a regular, eventually leading to his new role with his new team.
"When I was younger, I really didn't know anything about the Steelers," Poteat said. "I was an Eagles fan. When I was in middle school and high school, I started to get information on the Steelers and stuff like that. So I didn't start liking the Steelers until I was in college."
Today, he likes them even more.
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