First Call: Mason Rudolph's thoughts on leaving Pittsburgh; Steelers scouting WRs

Thursday’s “First Call” reveals Mason Rudolph’s farewell note to Pittsburgh. We have Mike Tomlin’s latest pro-day destination. Potential draftees at wide receiver for the Steelers are coming into focus.

And LeBron James sends something special to the Duquesne basketball team in advance of their NCAA Tournament game in Omaha.

Taking the high road

If Mason Rudolph is at all bitter about the Steelers going in a different direction at quarterback this offseason — or about anything else that happened during his time in Pittsburgh — he isn’t showing it.

Not long after signing a contract to leave for Tennessee in free agency last week, Rudolph posted this farewell to Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization on Instagram.

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A post shared by Mason Rudolph (@rudolph2mason)

Rudolph signed a one-year, $3.62 million contract with the Titans on Wednesday. He will go there and compete with Will Levis for the starting spot.

Rudolph, 28, spent six seasons with the Steelers and appeared to be in the mix to return for at least a seventh at the start of free agency. But then the Steelers inked Russell Wilson to a contract, and it appeared that Rudolph would be no better than the No. 3 QB behind him and Kenny Pickett. But then Pickett was traded to Philadelphia two days after Rudolph went to Nashville.

Subsequently, the Steelers traded for Justin Fields.

Familiar territory

The Steelers’ brass is no stranger to pro days in the SEC. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan were on hand for this year’s edition Wednesday at Alabama.

The Crimson Tide have some highly draftable players who are in key positions of need for the Steelers.

No doubt, the franchise needs cornerbacks. Terrion Arnold is the second-best cornerback on the board, according to ESPN.com. Kool-Aid McKinstry is sixth.

JC Latham is listed as the fifth-best tackle and the 17th-best prospect overall. If the Steelers want to upgrade from Dan Moore opposite Broderick Jones, that’s a possibility.

And since the Steelers are in need of a receiver, Jermaine Burton is viewed as a top-60 prospect.

Related

• Tim Benz: No team in NCAA Tournament has more sources of motivation thatn Duquesne
• Moon's John Calipari chases NCAA Tournament victory for Kentucky without losing sight of his roots
• Mark Madden: Pitt should have made the NCAA Tournament, but what would that have really meant?

Wondering about receiver

The Steelers had an interest in signing Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams. But he decided to go to the New York Jets instead.

Regardless of if the Steelers can find a top-3 receiver in free agency, they may try to draft one over the first two or three rounds.

The Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy said that Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni was at Texas’ pro day. That’s where Longhorn pass catchers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington were on display. Mitchell is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and he is rated as the 20th-best prospect in the NFL Draft by ESPN.com.

Worthy is 5-foot-11, 165 pounds and ran a 4.21 40-yard dash, the fastest ever at the event. ESPN has him as a late first-round/early second-round projection. Whittington is 6-foot-1, 205 pounds and is viewed as a late-round pick.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley is also slated to visit the Steelers in April. Josh Edwards of CBS Sports had that nugget. He also said the Browns, Ravens, Cowboys, Panthers, Buccaneers, Seahawks and 49ers are expressing an interest. ESPN has him as the 16th-rated receiver in the draft.

In his time as a Hilltopper, Corley had 259 catches, 3,035 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Gift from King James

The Duquesne men’s basketball team plays its first NCAA Tournament game in 47 years on Thursday. They are set to take on BYU at 12:40 p.m. in Omaha, Neb.

LeBron James was coached by Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot when he was in high school. He played with associate head coach Dru Joyce III at St. Vincent–St. Mary high school in Akron as well.

So, the NBA’s all-time scoring king gave the entire team a gift in support of their tournament debut.

Appreciate it King ????@DuqMBB x @KingJames pic.twitter.com/yTiQFMBno0

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 20, 2024

If the Dukes (11th seed) beat the Cougars (sixth seed), it’ll be their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1969. They’ll get the winner of the second game in Omaha, either Illinois (third seed) or Morehead State (14th seed).