Linebacker Devin Bush Jr. showed off his combination of speed and physicality all three seasons at Michigan.
His impressive play caught the eye of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers had been looking to replace linebacker Ryan Shazier who suffered a likely career-ending injury and found their perfect match. Bush was drafted by the Steelers with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin likes the type of player he is getting in Bush.
"He's an all-situation linebacker," Tomlin told reporters Thursday night. "We're equally as fired up about his intangibles. He comes from a football family, he's a football guy. Everyone speaks very highly of him as a player and a person.
"We interviewed a lot of Michigan players during the draft process and it was unanimous of who their unquestioned leader was. The position he plays is like a defensive quarterback, that's something that comes very natural to him."
The Steelers moved up ten picks to select Bush at No. 10. This was something Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert thought could happen but had to wait to see if it would work out.
"We identified Devin even going back into last year, watching him [as a sophomore]," Colbert told reporters Thursday night. "We scouted him extensively. We had four different people go in, myself included. We saw him play live games. We visited him at the combine. We visited with him the night before his pro day. Attended his pro day. This is a quality, quality young man and an excellent football player."
Bush’s buzz began to rise after he ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and measured in at 5-11, 234 pounds at the NFL combine this winter. While he wasn’t the first linebacker off the board, he was a coveted selection at No. 10.
NFL Draft analysts widely praised the Steelers’ pick of Bush because of how he fits in as a linebacker in the current NFL. Tomlin agrees with that assessment.
“[He has] that coverage ability, but I don’t want to underscore his blitzing capabilities, too,” Tomlin said. “I think that that was as exciting to me as his coverage. He’s an exciting all-situations linebacker, and to have that type of athleticism in the second level of defense is critical in today’s NFL.”
Bush is excited to be a Steeler.
"I think I’m a good fit because I love to win, and this team wants to win," he said. "I’m a guy that loves to win and just put me in the team nucleus. Being able to put a guy that loves to win, you know that’s how effective he’s going to be. Have a winning attitude, go to practice to win so that’s what they’re looking for."
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