NFL FEATURE STORIES
Former Nittany Lion A. Q. Shipley off to a fast start with the Steelers
Pittsburgh -- Following Thursday night’s 20-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Heinz Field, A. Q. Shipley was sitting in front of his locker in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room wearing a big smile on his face.
Nobody had to ask the former Penn State Nittany Lion gridder what the smile was all about. His effort on the field was enough to justify his feelings.
“Things are going well for me right now,” said Shipley. “I played most of the second half so I got a lot of good reps against some quality players from Arizona and we won the game. I just have to go out and continue to work hard and I thought tonight was a good first start for me.”
As for the difference between pre-season camp at Penn State and Camp Tomlin in Latrobe, Shipley was quick to point out the increased emphasis on the mental aspect of the game now that he is a Steeler.
“Mentally it is a lot more difficult because you have to learn and know a lot more than in college and you have to be more prepared from the start,“ he said. “You have to be able to see a lot more and make a lot of checks on the run and in college I didn’t have to do that. That is probably the hardest adjustment I have had to make thus far.”
Anyone who watches a professional football game will observe the center coming to the line and pointing to different people and areas across the line of scrimmage. So, you ask, what does it mean?
“We are just trying to make sure that everybody is on the same page,” Shipley added. “That is the way to identify the defense and what we are looking for before we run the play.”
For Shipley, Thursday night’s game with the Cardinals was a homecoming of sorts. As a graduate of Moon High School in Coraopolis, he began living a dream by playing for a team close to his heart as well as just up the road from his backyard.
“It (playing for the Steelers) is as exciting for me as it can be,” he said. “I had the opportunity to come out today, my family was here and my girl friend flew in for the game. It was just a phenomenal day to be able to get out there and play a game on a NFL field.”
Now two-thirds of the way through training camp, Shipley said it was a good feeling to look across the line and see someone in a different colored uniform after knocking heads with his teammates for a couple of weeks.
“It was good to go against someone who wasn’t wearing black & gold and I also had the opportunity to go against some Michigan guys and that made it special for me,” said Shipley. “I have known those guys for a while, especially (defensive tackle) Alan Branch who I have known for a few years since we played against each other in college. It is always fun to go against guys like that.”
Although he has officially departed from Happy Valley, Shipley’s smile came back to his face when he was asked how he thought the ‘Nits would do in 2009.
“They should be good. They should be really good,” said Shipley. “If they can put together an offensive line and a solid secondary they should be tough because those are the only two areas in which they lost a number of key people. (Quarterback) Darryl Clark is one of the best players in the country, (Evan) Royster is a great running back and you have two of the best linebackers anywhere in the country in Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman so they should be a great team again.”
And what about having the opportunity to play for a living legend in JoePa?
“It was great because Joe is about as big as it gets in college football,” Shipley said. “He is college football for the most part and everything he stands for is doing it the right way. Having a chance to play for him for five years, although it means a lot to me now, will probably mean a lot more to me down the road.”
From Chagrin Falls to Columbus to Cleveland, Browns wideout Brian Robiskie has a pretty good idea of what playing football in Ohio is like.
One short year ago, Robiskie was completing a brilliant career as a Buckeye that earned for him the honor of being picked in the second round (35th overall pick) by the Cleveland Browns.
Sunday afternoon, there was a Robiskie sighting at Heinz Field in a game that saw the Browns drop a 27-14 verdict to the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
Although Robiskie and the Browns came out on the short end of the final score, for the former Buckeye receiver, it was a milestone day for him as he caught his first-ever pass in a regular season game, a 23-yard toss from quarterback Derek Anderson.
“It was just a standard in-cut and I pushed it up trying to find a zone,” explained Robiskie. “The O-line did a great job protecting and D.A. (quarterback Derek Anderson) made a great throw. As it turned out, it opened up just like we would draw it up on the board.”
Like many other young athletes, Draft Day was filled with some anxious moments for Robiskie.
“It was just an exciting day because it is something that you dream about your whole life,” said. “For it to finally happen made it a big day for me.”
For Robiskie, football seemed like a natural. His father played collegiate, professionally and is currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
“In terms of somebody helping me with things on the field and off the field, he was always there,” said Robiskie. “He has been through everything that I am going through so that makes it easy for him to relate to me as to what to expect in my career. There could be no better person to take me through it (the experiences).”
While growing up in the Cleveland area, Robiskie hade his first real taste of the NFL as a ball boy for the Browns.
“It was a great experience for me because it gave me the opportunity to see guys work and practice at their game,” he said. “I just tried to take a little from them and apply it to my game. I have always been the guy who sits behind and watches what the other guys are doing so it was a good opportunity for me in my career.”
Like any athlete moving up from one level of play to another,
Robiskie had to make some adjustments. However, although he realizes that adjustments must be made, he also feels that he has to continue doing what got him to where he is now, and that is to learn something new every day.
“Just learning every day” said Robiskie. “For a rookie coming into (the NFL), it is a big learning curve and the biggest thing for me is not to get comfortable and to continue to grow and learn every day.”
Jonathan Stupar Making the Most of his Opportunity With Buffalo
PITTSBURGH -- If being in the right place at the right time is important in the National Football League, former State College and University of Virginia receiver Jonathan Stupar is a living example of that fact.
Coming out of UVA, Stupar was signed to a free agent contract by the New England Patriots on May 2, 2008 before making his way to Buffalo where he was assigned to the Bills practice squad four months later.
Hoping for a chance to prove his worth, Stupar was in the right place at the right time as Robert Royal and Derek Schouman were both battling hamstring injuries.
With as quickly as things were happening to Stupar, he admits he hardly had time to catch his breath.
“It was crazy and it still is,” he said. “But it is great to be here in Buffalo and I love it here. Sometimes you are here and sometimes you
are there, but that is the nature of the business. You get used to it a little bit.”
With Royal and Schouman battling nagging injuries, that is when Stupar was activated and the 6-3, 254-pound tight end has made the
most of his opportunities.
“You have to be able to fill in when people go down, especially in this league when they are only allowed to dress so many players,” sai Stupar. “When opportunity calls, you have to be ready to go and make the most of it.”
In the Bills’ first three games of the pre-season, Stupar has hauled in a NFL high 15 passes good for 155 yards and one touchdown. His 155 yards ties him for the second spot in the NFL going into the game with the Steelers.
After getting the opportunity to catch a lot of balls in the first three games, Stupar’s opportunities were almost non-existent in the loss to the Steelers.
“I got in during the second offensive series of the second quarter and then through the end of the game,” said Stupar. “Overall, it was only about 15-20 plays and tonight, I didn’t get thrown to at all. I guess it was just one of those things where you have three games and then you have one game.”
Already knowing what it is like to be assigned to a practice squad, Stupar is hoping that his effort thus far might earn him a spot on the 53-man roster when the regular season rolls around. However, he also realizes that other than trying to prove himself on the field, what happens is the other aspects of the game are beyond his control.
“We still have another pre-season game to play and when that time comes, we’ll just have to deal with it and accept what happens,” he said. “You just have the opportunity to show what you are capable of doing so I am just going to do everything I can to prove to these guys that I deserve to be on the 53-man roster when the season begins. Whatever they decide, we‘ll see what happens and go from there.”
After playing his high school football in downtown State College, coming to Heinz Field was a homecoming of sorts for the big tight end. As usual, that means friends and family in the stands.
“I did. I had about 20 people here tonight,” said Stupar with a big smile on his face. “They made the trip and although it wasn’t as successful for me as the first three, it was nice to have them here to watch me play.”
Although growing up very close to the Penn State program, Stupar opted to go to Virginia and his reason was a simple one. He watched what current Steeler tight end Heath Miller did at Virginia and he liked what he saw.
“You know, growing up in State College, I love State College,” began Stupar. “My brother is there right now, but growing up there my whole life, I needed to get away from home for a while, especially with Heath Miller there in Virginia. Watching him catch all of those passes as a tight end, that was the main thing that drew me to Virginia.”