Impressive Steelers rookie Yahya Black ‘blocks’ out praise the same way he does QBs’ passes

Asked what the key is for a pass-rushing interior lineman at batting down passes, Yahya Black has a quick answer.

“Just repetition,” the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive lineman said. “At first, you’re just throwing (a hand) up there, hoping that you’re in the way. But, yeah, it comes with repetition.”

Funny, because what’s been as repetitive as anything during this training camp has been Black batting down quarterbacks’ attempted throws. It seems to be happening at least once per practice.

A fifth-round pick from Iowa, Black on Thursday blocked a pass each in the “seven shots” 2-point conversion drill that begins the team portion of practice and the 2-minute drill that ended it.

“That’s a talent that a lot of people don’t talk about,” fellow Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton said of batting down passes, “but it’s important.

“(Black) is a big guy. He gets leverage. He gets extension. He’s able to see the trigger and get those hands up.”

Listed at 6-foot-5, 336 pounds, Black is the heaviest Steelers defensive player — but he’s not the tallest. Regardless, it’s become obvious through a dozen practices at Saint Vincent that he has quite the skill at clogging quarterbacks’ passing lanes.

Credited with nine pass breakups over a four-year college career in which he was a two-year starter at Iowa, Black has at least that many in two weeks of his first NFL camp.

“I think it’s just something that comes natural,” Benton said. “You see a quarterback take his left hand off of the ball, it makes you trigger, put your hands up. But you’ve also got to continue to rush.

“I think (Black) has a good balance of both.”

Under defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, the Steelers emphasize their pass rushers getting hands up. The defensive line’s elder statesman, Cameron Heyward, has been the best in the league at the skill for a defensive tackle in recent years.

It’s early, but Black has impressed — and not just in batting down passes. The second player at his position drafted by the Steelers this spring — first-rounder Derrick Harmon also is having a strong camp for a rookie — Black (taken 164th overall) seems to fit in seamlessly to the pro level.

Not that he’s content.

“I haven’t really settled in yet,” Black said. “It’s still a whole new experience. But just doing everything that they preach. You just take it all in and try to apply it on the field.”