The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team which is hoping to turn the corner in 2024 and get back to winning games when it matters most, the postseason. That journey starts with training camp at Saint Vincent College, and that camp has recently wrapped up. As the players get back to the city, and their homes, it is worth looking back and seeing exactly what the vibe was in Latrobe.

Who better to ask this very question to than the Steelers best player, T.J. Watt.

“The physicality, intensity, it’s been great. It really has,” Watt shared with the team’s official website. “We’ve gotten the most out of training camp. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been great to see personalities show on and off the field.

“And we have a really, really competitive football team, a deep football team at a lot of positions. And it’s been a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Asking someone like Watt what they think about the training camp situation is an interesting question. Does a veteran who has been the Defensive Player of the Year want to go away? Do they want to live in dorms again? Watt doesn’t see camp for the amenities, but how it can help the Steelers in January, and hopefully February.

“It’s huge. You set the tone now for what you want to do in January and February,” said Watt. “We’ve gotten to a point now where we have a lot of guys on this team like myself, who haven’t gotten to the places where we want to go, but we know what it takes. That starts here.

“There’s a sense of urgency, and the sense of urgency has been there since the beginning of the offseason.”

On top of the urgency and physicality which comes with camp, Watt was thrilled with the improvement on both sides of the ball. He’s been a part of training camps where things have been very lop-sided with the defense dominating. That didn’t happen in 2024, and the team’s seven shots drill is a perfect example. When all was said and done, the offense and defense split things evenly.

“Absolutely the improvement has been on both sides,” said Watt. “It hasn’t been lopsided. It’s not like the defense is winning every single day. It’s not like the offense is winning every single day. We’ve been challenging each other, pushing each other, getting sick of each other. But it’s really good.

“I feel like we’re relatively healthy still, guys are playing well, and hopefully that pushes into the rest of the preseason and the season.”

Camp is over, and the real journey is just beginning, and players like T.J. Watt like what they are seeing out of this 2024 iteration of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will it translate to the regular season? That has yet to be seen, and the next test will be when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium Saturday night in Week 2 of the preseason.