Numerous current Steelers players formed special bond with Franco Harris

It quickly became clear after practice Wednesday that Franco Harris had made impressions on players up and down the Pittsburgh Steelers roster.

From stalls in all corners of the locker room, players talked not about this week’s opponent but of the interactions they had with Harris, the Hall of Fame Steelers running back who died Wednesday morning at age 72.

But there was one player who perhaps had a deeper relationship with Harris.

Christian Kuntz is the only current Steeler who was born, raised and played college football in the Pittsburgh area.

“I obviously went and told my dad and my grandparents and everybody (the first time) that I met him,” Kuntz, the Steelers long snapper, said Wednesday.

An alumnus of Chartiers Valley and Duquesne, Kuntz met Harris not through the Steelers or even in a football setting.

“I was lucky enough that I valeted his car, actually, before I was here when I was in college valeting,” Kuntz said, “and he was just a legendary guy, as everyone says. He was nice to everybody, said hi to everybody, gave everybody the time of day. It didn’t matter who you were, and that’s what stuck out to me. I was just his valet before I was on the team or even in the NFL, and he was always respectful and would say hi and tipped very well. Stuff like that you don’t forget.”

Harris won’t be forgotten any time soon by the Steelers players around whom he spent so much time over the years as something of an unofficial ambassador for the team he spent 12 seasons with, helping it to its first four Super Bowls.

Steelers captain Cam Heyward on Franco Harris pic.twitter.com/fb1gLn8PGy

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 21, 2022

Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said he developed a friendship with Harris and talked to him as recently as Tuesday.

“He was like, ‘You still wouldn’t be able to touch me if we were practicing,’ ” Harris said to Heyward, a 288-pound All-Pro defensive lineman almost 40 years his junior. “And I was like, ‘Franco, you aren’t even playing football right now!’

“But he had a competitive spirit, and he wanted to be there for you. He wants to interact, and I can’t say enough about people he represented and people who got a chance to meet him.”

Heyward is the Steelers’ oldest player at 33, but even he was born five years after Harris retired and 17 years after the “Immaculate Reception” by Harris.

Still, even the youngest players became familiar with Harris — and not just because of his status as a nine-time Pro Bowl selection or Super Bowl MVP.

Harris was a regular at team functions. Coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday that the Steelers organization embraces its alumni and appreciates their continued tangible, in-person connection to the current team. He called Harris “a shining example of that.”

“When (current players) spent time with him, they realized that he didn’t want anything from them. He just wanted the absolute best for them,” Tomlin said. “That unconditional love, guys feel that, and that’s why they felt about him the way they felt about him.”

Rest In Peace to a great man who showed so much support for me. He was way more than just a athlete he was a icon and a role model to so many people. pic.twitter.com/tqsbDZptpE

— Najee Harris (@ohthatsNajee22) December 21, 2022

Because they share a position and a surname, offensive co-captain Najee Harris had a unique relationship with Franco Harris. The latter would send the Steelers’ 2021 first-round pick text messages that ranged from supportive to funny.

Najee Harris was particularly heartened when the elder Harris — unannounced and unsolicited — showed up at a recent charity event Najee Harris was hosting.

“He’s like family, you know?” Najee said last week.

Pat Freiermuth on fellow Penn State letterman Franco Harris pic.twitter.com/VZIkzSGuHw

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 21, 2022

Pat Freiermuth can attest. His connection to Franco Harris began with their alma mater (both attended Penn State), but it developed into so much more. Harris and his wife, Dana, had Freiermuth into their home for dinner.

Freiermuth has long since forgiven Harris for mispronouncing his name when announcing him as the Steelers’ second-round pick last year. Freiermuth on Wednesday recalled how Harris made an unscheduled appearance on Freiermuth’s weekly radio show.

“He meant so much to Pittsburgh,” Freiermuth said. “It’s obviously cool for me (that) I got to know him personally and have had a relationship with him, but everyone in the locker room, they know Franco Harris. He’s around all the time, and he was one of the first people I was told to follow and to follow his legacy to be a Steeler.”

Staff writer Justin Guerriero contributed.

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