George Pickens compared the practices he experienced at the University of Georgia far more favorably than what he’s going through now in the NFL with the tumbling Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver George Pickens says the drills for him in college at the University of Georgia were more difficult than what he’s experienced professionally up to that point.
While people shudder at his drill comparison comments, he played as a junior for a national championship team and a program that sent player after player into the NFL, particularly at the cornerback position. Although he should be up against a similar level of competition, the Steelers are a 3-7 team. It’s not as odd as it sounds for Pickens to say so.
Most former college stars have no reason to say so, but Pickens went up against the best.
George Pickens says Georgia drills were tougher than Pittsburgh Steelers’
Despite being an exemplary organization in the NFL, the Steelers are having their worst season in years. Coincidentally, this is Pickens’ first season in Pittsburgh. In all honesty, this is the worst year the Steelers have had since Pickens has been able to form memories. If he had gone to a team with serious Super Bowl ambitions, that comment might not have had all that much discernible value.
Regardless of how good or bad the Steelers have been this year, Pickens isn’t the first former college star to say something along those lines, and he won’t be the last. Certainly a former star wide receiver in Alabama could have said the same things that came out of the Peak Crimson Tide program under Saban. Players may have said similar things and left Pete Carroll USC for the NFL.
Ultimately, Pickens’ comments are consistent with what you would ordinarily hear from top-notch college programs from time to time. The only difference is that the players, former programs, and NFL teams change. However, it is truly amazing how a player can go from an elite program to one far less than this simply by participating in a draft. No other profession works like this, so it’s crazy.
You don’t have to agree with Pickens, but his saying that about the Steelers speaks volumes.
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