New coach Ike Hilliard willing to provide leadership to young Steelers WRs

When he was hired in February, Ike Hilliard was put in charge of one of the youngest position groups in the NFL.

Of the nine wide receivers on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training-camp roster, only two — JuJu Smith-Schuster and Ryan Switzer — have as much as three years of NFL experience.

Still, as the Steelers prepare for padded workouts in two weeks, Hilliard has seen a leader emerge and take charge of the the group.

Himself.

“It starts with me in the room and how I deliver the message from the head coach and offensive coordinator,” Hilliard said Monday in a video conference call, his first interaction with the media since his hiring.

“It’s my job to help these young men prepare the way they are supposed to prepare and teach them how to be pros. That’s no disrespect to those before me, but that’s what I’ve been asked to do, and I intend to do that.”

Hilliard, 44, essentially is the fourth position coach the Steelers receivers have employed in four years. Darryl Drake, who replaced Richard Mann after the 2017 season, was entering his second year with the organization when he died unexpectedly in training camp last year. Ray Sherman came out of retirement to serve as interim coach for the season.

Hilliard also is the Steelers’ first receivers coach with NFL game experience since Kenny Jackson’s three-year run under coach Bill Cowher from 2001-03. A first-round pick in 1997, Hilliard spent eight years with the New York Giants and four with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before injuries forced him into retirement after the 2008 season.

“I’m going to lead them by example,” Hilliard said. “I’m going to lead them by the way I teach, the way I prepare and what we do every day from a fundamental standpoint. Those leaders usually emerge through competition, through daily work and, at some point, it will take care of itself outside of me.”

After months of interacting with his players via Zoom calls, Hilliard soon will get his first chance to coach the receivers at Heinz Field when training camp ramps up Aug. 17.

“I’ve been doing a lot of talking,” Hilliard said. “I think they’re tired of me talking and ready to do it on the grass now.”

At 23, Smith-Schuster is younger than Diontae Johnson and James Washington and is just a year older than rookie Chase Claypool. Yet, he is the longest-tenured receiver on the Steelers roster.

In previous years, the Steelers had veteran mentors in the locker room such as Hines Ward and Darrius Heyward-Bey. In 2019, the leadership was expected to come from Donte Moncrief, but he got off to a disastrous start and was released in early November. That left Smith-Schuster, Washington and Johnson to fend for themselves.

Because Hilliard barely is a decade removed from his playing days, he can perhaps relate better to the players than his predecessors. Mann was 70 when he retired, Drake was 62 when he died and Sherman is 68. Just don’t expect him to bore the receivers with stories from his playing days.

As his first NFL coach, the late Tony Sparano, told Hilliard upon hiring him in 2011: “Playing years are like dog years to coaches. It’s a little different in terms of communicating how to deal with players, how they deal with you.”

Hilliard spent the past six seasons with Washington, and he helped mold rookie Terry McLaurin, a third-round pick, into the team’s top pass catcher in 2019 with 58 receptions for 919 yards.

After the Steelers hired Hilliard, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner estimated he spent a month picking Hilliard’s brain on ways to maximize the team’s production at wide receiver.

“He has a unique mind for the game,” Fichtner said. “I think his personality is going to mesh with the young guys.”

Hilliard’s track record working with young receivers extends beyond his tutelage of McLaurin last year. In 2013, his lone year with the Buffalo Bills, he coached Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. In Washington, he also worked with veterans Santana Moss, DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.

“Everyone will be pleased if I can get the most out of these players and everyone involved can see the continuous progress,” Hilliard said.

That’s especially true for Smith-Schuster, who is coming off the worst of his three NFL seasons. Injuries limited him to 12 games last year, and he finished with 42 catches for 552 yards — a year after leading the Steelers with 111 catches for 1,426 yards.

“In 12 years, I had eight surgeries,” Hilliard said. “I understand that. At the end of the day, it’s our job as players and coaches to perform. He understands that. He’s going to be great this year and do everything in his power to stay healthy. … The rest of the stuff will take care of itself.

“We all know JuJu is a playmaker. We all know that he is going to be a guy we want to get the ball to and jump-start our offense in a big way.”