May 4, 2026 • 3 mins
Navy Standout and Mt. Lebanon Native Eli Heidenreich relives the moment he became a Pittsburgh Steeler during the 2026 NFL Draft
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Eli was telling everybody welcome to Pittsburgh, but for you,
it's welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
What has this moment been like for you? From waiting backstage,
walking across the stage and then becoming a Pittsburgh Steeler
and getting the hug from the commissioner.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It's been a wide range of emotions today, kind of
a little bit of up and down, and especially at
the end, a lot of up. But I'm kind of
waiting throughout the day and not sure what's going to happen,
a lot of anxiety, just wondering where you're gonna go.
Then I finally got that call and it was four
and two number, and I was just fired up. It
all kind of hit me and it was just an
(00:40):
awesome feeling. And then I got the walk out there,
and you know, you get out on stage and the
city skyline's out there in the background, and it was
just a fantastic experience. Somewhow ringing for a long time.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Is it almost the triple threat? You're a hometown kid,
you get drafted by the hometown team, but the draft
is in your hometown too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I think it was kind of the you know, the
mix of that. It's a little bit like a storybook
kind of ending to you know, this part of my life.
But I'm looking forward to to get in here, and
you know I'm graduating soon, but you know, moving past
that and being able to focus on football, and I'm
excited to get here and get to work.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You had some of your classmates in the green room
with you, your family. Were people talkative? Were they just
leaving you alone? What was that kind of vibe.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'd say they were pretty talkative, very supportive too. Everyone's
like a little stressed out and they're all managing it
in their own way. Everyone was real supportive of me.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And what did it mean to have all of those
people there supporting you even when they were taking shots
when you were walking across to the stage. Your Navy
jersey people, I don't know if you knew that they
were there or just supporters as well in the in
the fans area.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, it was. It was cool. I walked out there
and there were a few people with like the hide
andrch Navy jerseys. It was it was a it was
a cool feelings walking out and seeing those guys out there.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
How do you move forward in terms of all football?
I heard you and your press conference talk about you
get to focus all your attention on it. How quickly
do you turn the page to football.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I think it starts tomorrow for me. Now, it's it's
time to get to work. It's you don't want to
dwell too much on the fact that you got drafted.
It's the whole draft is. It's the idea that you
now have this opportunity, it's in front of you and
kind of live up to. You know, these people, they're
they're giving you a chance. So I think that's the
whole thing. And you know, like I said, I'm excited
to start getting after it.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
What do you think this means to your parents?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
They're they're fired up. First off, they're Steelers fans born
and raised, both born and raised in Pittsburgh, so they've
been Steelers fans their whole life. And you know, they
had a big role in this and have always been
so supportive of me. And you know, I think they're
just they're proud. That's what they've been telling me all day.
So I'm just thankful that I have two fantastic parents
next me.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Throughout this A new head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers
and Mike McCarthy what do you know about his plans
in terms of the offense and just what you see
in terms of what this team's going to be this season.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I'm fired up about what's going on here in the future,
you know. I think the biggest thing is just whatever
the team needs. It's always what I've been about on offense,
you know, if it's running the ball, catching the ball, blocking,
always been a big team for a Skuy, So I'm
just excited to get out there and contribute in any way.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
All right, thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Congrats again, Yeah, thank you for having me.
Eli was telling everybody welcome to Pittsburgh, but for you,
it's welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
What has this moment been like for you? From waiting backstage,
walking across the stage and then becoming a Pittsburgh Steeler
and getting the hug from the commissioner.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It's been a wide range of emotions today, kind of
a little bit of up and down, and especially at
the end, a lot of up. But I'm kind of
waiting throughout the day and not sure what's going to happen,
a lot of anxiety, just wondering where you're gonna go.
Then I finally got that call and it was four
and two number, and I was just fired up. It
all kind of hit me and it was just an
(00:40):
awesome feeling. And then I got the walk out there,
and you know, you get out on stage and the
city skyline's out there in the background, and it was
just a fantastic experience. Somewhow ringing for a long time.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Is it almost the triple threat? You're a hometown kid,
you get drafted by the hometown team, but the draft
is in your hometown too. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I think it was kind of the you know, the
mix of that. It's a little bit like a storybook
kind of ending to you know, this part of my life.
But I'm looking forward to to get in here, and
you know I'm graduating soon, but you know, moving past
that and being able to focus on football, and I'm
excited to get here and get to work.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You had some of your classmates in the green room
with you, your family. Were people talkative? Were they just
leaving you alone? What was that kind of vibe.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'd say they were pretty talkative, very supportive too. Everyone's
like a little stressed out and they're all managing it
in their own way. Everyone was real supportive of me.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And what did it mean to have all of those
people there supporting you even when they were taking shots
when you were walking across to the stage. Your Navy
jersey people, I don't know if you knew that they
were there or just supporters as well in the in
the fans area.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, it was. It was cool. I walked out there
and there were a few people with like the hide
andrch Navy jerseys. It was it was a it was
a cool feelings walking out and seeing those guys out there.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
How do you move forward in terms of all football?
I heard you and your press conference talk about you
get to focus all your attention on it. How quickly
do you turn the page to football.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I think it starts tomorrow for me. Now, it's it's
time to get to work. It's you don't want to
dwell too much on the fact that you got drafted.
It's the whole draft is. It's the idea that you
now have this opportunity, it's in front of you and
kind of live up to. You know, these people, they're
they're giving you a chance. So I think that's the
whole thing. And you know, like I said, I'm excited
to start getting after it.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
What do you think this means to your parents?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
They're they're fired up. First off, they're Steelers fans born
and raised, both born and raised in Pittsburgh, so they've
been Steelers fans their whole life. And you know, they
had a big role in this and have always been
so supportive of me. And you know, I think they're
just they're proud. That's what they've been telling me all day.
So I'm just thankful that I have two fantastic parents
next me.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Throughout this A new head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers
and Mike McCarthy what do you know about his plans
in terms of the offense and just what you see
in terms of what this team's going to be this season.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I'm fired up about what's going on here in the future,
you know. I think the biggest thing is just whatever
the team needs. It's always what I've been about on offense,
you know, if it's running the ball, catching the ball, blocking,
always been a big team for a Skuy, So I'm
just excited to get out there and contribute in any way.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
All right, thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Congrats again, Yeah, thank you for having me.
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