(Tribune News Service) — Pittsburgh Steelers rookie linebacker Jack Sawyer got one-upped at his own draft party. By a teammate, no less.

Shortly after Pittsburgh drafted Sawyer in the fourth round, his family and friends gathered around the TV to hear who would be joining him in Black and Gold with the team’s sixth-round pick.

It was a familiar name. So familiar that his Ohio State teammate, quarterback Will Howard, might have drawn a bigger ovation than the man of the hour.

Though Sawyer joked with the people at his party that they cheered louder for Howard than they did for him, the edge rusher was thrilled to have a fellow Buckeye national champion joining him in the Steel City.

“Just so excited because our families spent so much time together, we’re great friends,” Sawyer told the Post-Gazette. “Being able to do it here again, it’s special.”

The two rookies were together again Tuesday night, serving area veterans in an event hosted by the Steelers and Verizon.

“We’re lucky to be here in America, and these people have made it so that we could live safely in this country,” Howard said. “I’m just happy that we can make this night special for them.”

The quarterback was hoping one of his Ohio State teammates would join him in the NFL — the Buckeyes had 14 players selected in April, the most of any school — but found it fitting he and Sawyer headed to the same city.

“We both embody that mindset, the culture of the Steelers,” Howard said. “Tough, almost underdog mindset. Work hard, blue-collar. … Very fortunate to be here with one of my best friends in this sport.”

Howard and Sawyer participated in a Q&A with the more than 20 veterans and their families in attendance at the Steelers’ South Side facility before taking them on a tour of the locker room and weight room. Many of the veterans are diehard Steelers fans, including longtime season-ticker holder Jim Hill.

The 38-year veteran served with the Marines in Vietnam, receiving a Purple Heart. After being home for several years, he felt like something was missing in his life — so he signed up for the Army Reserves.

He would later do two tours in Iraq as a command sergeant major. Among his responsibilities was clearing IEDs around Baghdad.

Hill, who worked as a licensed professional counselor, was one of the veterans nominated by loved ones in Western Pennsylvania Verizon stores and selected for Tuesday’s event. He and his wife, Linda, live in McMurray after many years in Mt. Lebanon.

He said it was “awesome” to meet Sawyer and Howard. But both he and Linda noticed one thing about the two rookies.

“I love that they’re so young,” Linda said.

“They’re so young, I’m like, ‘You got to be kidding me,’ ” Jim said.

A few of the veterans at Tuesday’s event had debt erased through a partnership with the Steelers and Verizon, using ForgiveCo to find local veterans in need.

Nick Roun saw debt pile up in connection with medical issues. Then, the 5½-year Air Force veteran got a letter in the mail saying it had been paid off.

“I did question it quite a bit,” Roun said. “And then I logged into my account and saw that it was taken off my medical bills.”

Roun, who spent three months in Saudi Arabia right after 9/11, said he “was going through a really hard time with what my medical issues were.

“To have that bit of stress relief really helped my family,” he said.

Roun lives in Crafton with his wife and daughter, who’s in high school.

The program has erased $600,000 of debt for veterans in Western Pennsylvania this year, $100,000 for each Steelers win this season, according to Verizon market president Andy Brady.

“It’s the closest thing I can think of to a random act of kindness,” said Brady, who had many family members serve in the Armed Forces.

The Steelers rookies spent lots of time speaking with the veterans and taking pictures with them a few days before they travel to Chicago for Sunday’s game against the Bears.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we get to do on the daily if it wasn’t for our veterans and the people in the service protecting us and giving us those freedoms and those liberties,” Sawyer said.

He’s recorded 18 tackles, including one sack, this season and intercepted a Daniel Jones pass during the game against the Indianapolis Colts. The linebacker has been in T.J. Watt’s “hip pocket” as he tries to learn from the former Defensive Player of the Year at his position.

“Just seeing how he goes about his work on a day-to-day basis, always showing up early and putting in the extra time after practice,” Sawyer said, “it’s a good blueprint for me to follow and learn after him.”

Howard has an all-time great to learn from at his position, as well. He had, of course, heard a lot about Aaron Rodgers before the four-time MVP came to Pittsburgh.

“Everyone has an opinion on him, and not a lot of them are positive,” Howard said. “I wanted to meet him and make my own assumptions about him without any prior knowledge. And I couldn’t be more impressed with the human being that he is.”

The rookie described Rodgers’ mentorship style as “very direct, very blunt. … But I love it.”

As much as he’s learned from Rodgers on the field, Howard said he’s taken even more away from how the 2011 Super Bowl MVP handles himself off the field.

“He’s taught me a lot about perspective,” Howard said. “The way that he looks at life is unique because he’s been to the mountaintop multiple times. … He knows what it’s like to be on top, but he also knows what it’s like to be criticized and scrutinized.”

Now recovered from a broken hand in August, Howard could be the Steelers’ backup behind Mason Rudolph if Rodgers — dealing with a fractured left wrist — is unable to play against the Bears.

©2025 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC