Ilkin to be honored for contributions

Joins Kolb, Lake, Lipps in team’s Hall of Honor

Less than two months after announcing that he’s retiring from his longtime role as a Steelers radio broadcaster, two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Tunch Ilkin leads the latest class into the team’s Hallof Honor.

Joining Ilkin are fellow tackle Jon Kolb, defensive back Carnell Lake and wide receiver Louis Lipps. Those four are set to be inducted at a ceremony Nov. 13, the day before the Steelers play host to theLions.

The Steelers started their Hall of Honor in 2017, and Ilkin is a most deserving choice for the fifth group of honorees. He was a reliable presence on the field from 1980-92, but he has become even more beloved in Pittsburgh in the decades since while serving as a broadcast analyst. In early June he stepped away from the radio booth to focus on his fight with ALS. Ilkin announced thediagnosis last year.

“He was cut once or twice at least, but in true Tunch fashion, kept fighting, never gave up,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Saturday as the announcement was released. “Then he followed that up with a Hall of Fame broadcastcareer, in my opinion.”

Kolb came before Ilkin on the Steelers offensive line, helping them win four Super Bowls by protecting Terry Bradshaw’s blind side. A third-round pick in 1969, Kolb played until 1981 and never wore another team’s jersey. He then became the Steelers strengthcoach until 1992.

Lippswas a first-rounder in 1984 and highly productive from the start. The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder out of Southern Mississippi was the league’s offensive rookie of the year and made the All-Pro team his firsttwo seasons.

Lake,a Steeler from 1989-98, was an All-Pro selection in 1997. He made four Pro Bowls in Pittsburgh and one more in 1999 with the Jaguars. Lake, who started his career as a safety backing up Rod Woodsonand later moved to cornerback himself, spent seven years on Mike Tomlin’s coachingstaff from 2011-17.

“A great foursome for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” said former offensive lineman and now radio voice Craig Wolfley, before turning to Rooney. “A standard that was set a long time ago by your grandfather.”

The Steelers have yet to

Steelers notebook

honor the 2020 class of Troy Polamalu, Greg Lloyd, James Farrior, Mike Wagner and Dwight White because of COVID-19restrictions.

Each year the class is chosen by a panel including Art Rooney II, other longtime contributors to the organization andmedia members.

Vocal TE-LB drills

The linebackers impressed during position drills Saturday at Heinz Field, but both the linebackers and tight ends shined during their competitions.

A matchup that coach Mike Tomlin was anticipating was linebacker Alex Highsmith against tight end Pat Freiermuth and it did not disappoint, with the two getting very physical. During those drills, Tomlin shouted encouragement both ways, particularlyto tight end Kevin Raderwhen it was his turn.

“It’s an iron-on-iron principle. There’s a rhyme and reason to a lot of the matchups and usually, it’s about one man’s strength versus another element of the next man’s game that needs improvement. In the case of those two, we just like the finish of Alex and so we’re going to fit that into those circumstances ,” Tom lin said.

“The tight end position is a unique one because of the challenges that you face week in and week out. Some weeks you may be blocking outside linebackers, some weeks you’re blocking big men, 4-3 in,”Tomlin said.

These drills are all about giving everyone an opportunity to show what they can do, Tomlin said, citing Robert Spillane last year as an example.

A look at QB

All four quarterbacks on the roster, Ben Roethlisberger, Dwyane Haskins, Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs, saw significant reps under center.

Roethlisberger, the only one of the four not in pads, did not participate during the seven shots drill. Rudolph and Haskins went a combined 0 for 5 with a bad throw from Rudolph to JuJu SmithSchuster, but it did include a bad drop by Diontae Johnson over the middle. Haskins was sacked and then intercepted by James Pierre in back-toback plays. Dobbs went 2-for-2 with both scores going to KalenBallage.

The team is working on catchingballs consistently.

“Catching the ball is one thing,having it be a consistent component in the passing game is another and those are awareness-related things and not necessarily skills relative tocatching,” Tomlin said.