Steelers notes from OTAs: 1st-round pick Troy Fautanu bounces back from ‘rough’ Day 1

Troy Fautanu, by his own admission, was humbled Tuesday.

Turns out, the step up from the Pac-12 to the NFL is quite the leap — even for a consensus All-American and first-round draft pick.

“It’s a lot different from college,” Fautanu said Wednesday after the second day of Pittsburgh Steelers organized team activities. “Just the adjustment to the speed, especially (from the) guys on the edge. Yeah, (Tuesday’s first OTA) was a rough one — but today was a little bit better.”

Steelers 1st-rd pick Troy Fautanu on his 1sr impression of the jump from practice in the Pac-12 to his first NFL practices pic.twitter.com/5ZpU7QfR4m

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 22, 2024

An offensive tackle from the University of Washington, Fautanu confirmed he was beat clean for what almost assuredly would have been a sack of Justin Fields during Fautanu’s first formal 11-on-11 practice rep as a pro Tuesday.

But Fautanu believes he is proving a quick learner and is already adjusting to the NFL level.

“What I am hearing a lot from the guys is to just find something to get better at, and emphasize that (the next day), and I felt like I did (Wednesday),” he said. “So I am learning a lot from these guys, especially Dan (Moore), Broderick (Jones), everybody, Isaac (Seumalu), everybody in the room is kind of taking me under their wing.”

Trice is right

Cory Trice is not yet 100% cleared for NFL action. He still is wearing a significant brace on his surgically-repaired right knee.

But the rangy cornerback said Wednesday that he is preparing to be full-go for when it counts.

“By training camp,” Trice said, “I will be ready to go.”

Less than a week into his rookie training camp last year at Saint Vincent, Trice suffered a torn ACL. It was the second such injury Trice sustained over a 23-month span. In September 2021 while playing at Purdue, the ACL in Trice’s left knee was torn.

“It was actually a good thing (having undergone ACL rehab previously) because I knew what to expect,” Trice said. “I knew going into it each month what to expect, Month 3, Month 4.”

Trice said he spent most of the offseason in Pittsburgh. He was around the team at practices and the facility all throughout last season despite his status on season-ending injured reserve.