Former Steeler Ryan Shazier describes the impact of Troy Polamalu's mentorship

One of the things that made Ryan Shazier’s career-ending spinal injury so sad is that, for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, they could sense a little Troy Polamalu in what he brought to the field.

Shazier (a linebacker) played a different position than Polamalu (a safety), and the defense around him wasn’t quite as good as the one that featured Polamalu.

You could still see it, though, right?

Unbridled, lithe, kinetic, game-changing athleticism in the middle-third of the field, with the ability to drop in coverage and make the quarterback’s life difficult. But also the ferocity to attack the line of scrimmage with ill-intent.

Oh, and look out if either one ever got their hands on a football.

Polamalu’s talents will allow him to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month. Shazier earned two Pro Bowl trips before his career was cut short due to the injury he endured in Cincinnati in December 2017.

The two Steelers overlapped for just one year. The 2014 season was Shazier’s first in Pittsburgh and Polamalu’s last. However, they did play on the same defense, and they were huddled in the same corner of the Steelers locker room in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.

While promoting his foundation to fund spinal rehabilitation on WDVE Thursday morning, it became clear how much Polamalu impacted Shazier in a short amount of time.

“Troy was always saying be who you are,” Shazier told the ‘DVE Morning Show. “Understand what’s ahead of you. Trust yourself. Troy trusted himself a lot. He watched a lot of film. When you watch film, and do your homework, you can take a lot of estimated guesses. Troy took a lot of really good ones. And they helped him get into the Hall of Fame. When you know what you are doing, trust yourself.”

Another area where Polamalu proved to be a mentor was illustrating to Shazier how he could bounce back through a rough rookie season. Injury and inconsistency allowed Shazier to start only five games and play in nine as a No. 1 pick. He had just 36 tackles and was involved in no sacks or turnovers.

Polamalu was also underwhelming as a rookie No. 1 pick out of USC. Yet after Year 2, he was in the Pro Bowl.

“Troy let me know that everybody makes mistakes. Everybody’s path is different. He said that when he was a rookie, he got scored on so many times, he should’ve won Offensive Player of the Year,” Shazier recalled with a laugh. “That really stuck with me because Troy is one of the greatest safeties of all time, and his first year in the NFL wasn’t as pretty as he wanted it. But the way he finished it was one of the best careers you could have.”

You can even hear a little of Polamalu’s noted ethereal, spiritual verbiage slip into Shazier’s quotes.

“It’s not a rollercoaster. It’s like the ocean. Some days the waters are calm, and you know what you are doing. Some days it’s really rocky. But you have to ride with it. And trust yourself,” Shazier said.

It’s not like Polamalu’s resume needed any subtle boost to get elected to the Hall of Fame. However, mentoring Shazier into the player he was — and the one he could’ve been — just makes Polamalu’s case all the stronger.