The Beard.

Anyone who has watched the Steelers for longer than the last 10 seconds knows exactly what that moniker means, and who it stands for. Six foot Five inches and 290 pounds of human teddy bear, except when stalking running backs on the football field. It’s not often that a late round draft pick gets his own tag line based on his nickname: ‘Fear da Beard’.

Brett Keisel is one of many Pittsburgh Steelers players over the years who have become fan favorites, NOT because he was a perennial Pro Bowl player, nor because he was a high pedigree 1st Round draft pick. It’s not because he won a Super Bowl or racked up a ton of sacks or tackles for loss.

No, Brett Keisel is a fan favorite of nearly all Steelers fans because of the embodiment of who he is as a player. Diesel Kiesel the player always gave 110%, playing with a high motor that never quit. That ‘no quit’ attitude is a big reason why Kiesel made the team in the first place.

Having been drafted by the Steelers with the 242nd Overall Pick in the 7th Round of the 2002 Draft, Brett was a longshot to make the roster to begin with. He was the last draft pick for the Steelers in what turned out to be one of the most prolific player acquisition phases the Steelers have had in their long history. The amount of players that weren’t necessarily stars, but quality contributors, is likely what made this team a Super Bowl contender for the next decade, and Keisel was a main part of that.

Consider the names that came out of that 2002 Class: Kendall Simmons-OG (Rnd 1), Antwaan Randle El-WR (Rnd 2), Chris Hope-S (Rnd 3), Larry Foote-LB (Rnd 4), Verron Haynes-RB (Rnd 5), Brett Keisel-DE (Rnd 7), James Harrison-EDGE (UDFA), Jeff Reed-K (UDFA), James Farrior-ILB (Free Agent).

There’s a lot of good memories stacked in those names. So for Kiesel to be able to stick around and make an apperance in 5 games his rookie year was a feat unto itself. He wasn’t in what you would call “football shape” coming out of BYU as an undersized NFL Defensive End, but Pittsburgh is known for taking on those kinds of projects.

One thing you could say about Brett Keisel is that he was not afraid of hard work. Keisel knew his only way into the NFL was to show up and flat out outwork everyone on the field. Even after he was injured his whole 2nd season, the Steelers kept him around because of what they saw in him his rookie season, and he did not disappoint, eventually rendering Kimo Von Olehoffen expendable after the 2006 season when Von Olehoffen became a free agent and signed with the New York Jets.

Brett Kiesel the man is just as much of a legend as his effort, his playing ability, and his beard.

Originally hailing from Wyoming, Kiesel is an avid outdoorsman who still can be seen in his social media these days fishing or hunting for his next trophy. But that’s not all to who he is off the field.

It was during one of his offseason hunting trips with his father, that Brett decided that it was time to grow a prodigious facial mop. Having seen the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup grow out their “Playoff Beards” during their Stanley Cup run in 2010, it gave Keisel all of the motivation he needed to get it growing.

During the season in 2010, even the major telecasts started giving his chin cover some airtime, calling out the mountain man for the flowing locks coming from underneath his chinstrap.

Later that offseason in 2010, Brett started his annual charity event “Shear da Beard”, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The event lasted 10 years until 2020, with the charity raising over $1 Million over the 10 years. Many Steelers personalities have been a part of the event over the years, with players like Big Ben, Cam Heyward, James Harrison, and Arthur Moats taking part in the festivities of ‘de-bearding’ The Beard.

He can also still be seen roaming the sidelines at Training Camp, the preseason, and into the regular season, still giving his knowledge of the game and the 3-4 system to newer players when he’s not signing autographs and hamming it up with former players and NFL personalities. A genuine gentle giant with a heart of Black and Gold.

The Candidates

There is a mix of players to the candidate list. There are offensive and defensive players alike, as well as drafted and undrafted players. There are even a couple of guys who were technically on an NFL team last year, but because of extraneous circumstances beyond their control, were not able to contribute to the team once the regular season got underway.

The hope is that the winner of this award will make the 53 Man Roster, but in the NFL, there are no guarantees. That is actually what makes this award so interesting, in that since there are no guarantees of a roster spot, the guy who flat out works harder despite the lack of talent or physical gifts can make an NFL roster.

I do feel confident in saying that even if the award winner somehow does NOT make the final 53 Man Roster, that they will most likely end up on the Practice Squad and can STILL make a game day roster throughout the season (provided they don’t get sniped away by another NFL team). Guys like Keisel, or even James Harrison for example, had to make it through not one, but many Minicamps, Training Camps, and Practice Squads, before they got their big shot. Some of our candidates for the award this year are in that mold.

Remember that YOU, the reader, will be voting for the award winner, so make sure to look deep into the shaky magic 8 Ball to find the diamond in the rough that suits your eye.

Now let’s get to the candidates!

Cory Trice Jr. (CB) – A 7th Round pick for Pittsburgh in 2023, Trice was an early camp darling amongst the media. He had the eye of the coaching staff in OTA’s up until his knee injury in the first actual padded practice, forced him to miss the entire season. Despite this, and his overall injury history, there is a lot of good buzz regarding his ability if he can fully recover from the injury. There have been positive reports regarding his rehab, and he’s been on the field for OTA’s. The only thing you can say is “so far, so good.”

Ryan Watts (DB) – The Steelers 7th Round pick in THIS year’s draft out of Texas. He’s got the size (6′ 3″, 205lbs.) and pedigree, having played at Ohio State before transferring to Texas for this last season and the Longhorns’ CFP Championship run. While there may be an obvious move to Safety in Watts’ future, his most realistic path to getting on the 53 Man Roster is through his Special Teams play. If Watts were to impress on Cover teams, make some plays, and push Miles Killebrew, his positional versatility may give him the nod over the others.

Beanie Bishop (CB) – This is the OTHER West Virginia guy that Shannon continually raved about all offseason, besides Center Zach Frazier. Bishop comes to the Steelers as an Undrafted Free Agent. He is on the smaller side for a Cornerback (5′ 9″, 182lbs.), but Shannon swears by his Mighty Mouse physicality, so this could work out very well at the Nickel Corner spot. “Mike Hilton”-like, as he called him. Bishop has plenty of other competition for the position, but there is an opportunity, especially since Cam Sutton’s suspension opens up a roster spot until his return.

John Rhys Plumlee (QB) – His path to the Steelers roster is unlikeliest of all, as the Steelers have 3 Quarterbacks on the roster already in Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen. This isn’t to say that Plumlee is just a Camp arm though. The Steelers invested significant signing bonus money to him as an Undrafted Free Agent out of the University of Central Florida. He started on both the baseball and football teams at Ole Miss before transferring to UCF, and then also started for their baseball and football teams as well. Plumlee’s skillset is larger than his size (6′ 0″, 200lbs.), so maybe the Steelers view him as Taysom Hill-‘Lite’. If he has the skills of another smaller QB, say maybe one Doug Flutie, then there might be something to this dual sport athlete. He would definitely be a cheaper option than Kyle Allen would be, as a UDFA.

Daijun Edwards (RB) – Comes from the talent rich University of Georgia and shared the backfield last year with Kendall Milton. Still, Edwards logged 880 RuYds and 13 TD’s to go with 20 Rec and 197 RecYds. His dual role skill set, along with his size at 5′ 10″ and 210lbs, have many trying to compare him to Jaylen Warren. He has an intriguing path to the team though. With Harris, Warren, and Patterson all ahead of him on the depth chart, he would seem to be the odd man out. Patterson can be slid into the WR room as well, making room for Edwards on the roster. It would most likely depend on how Arthur Smith wanted to deploy Patterson for most of the season to give Edwards the room to get on the team. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Darius Rush (CB) – Formerly of the University of South Carolina, Rush is the other player on the team this year (besides Cory Trice) that was actually on an NFL team last year. Originally drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 5th Round of the 2023 Draft, he was cut during Camp, where the Kansas City Chiefs snatched him up, only to cut him again before Camp was over. The Chiefs did, however, put Rush on their practice squad and that’s where he stayed until the Steelers signed him off of their practice squad in October of 2023. Rush’s name was circulated through the media during the run up to the 2023 NFL Draft, as there was talk that he could be a 1st Round selection. There is plenty of opportunity for Rush to show his abilities in the Cornerback room, so don’t sleep on this guy.

Logan Lee (DE) – This guy screams “Brett Keisel clone”. Undersized Defensive End. Drafted at the back end of the entire Draft. Needs to put on weight. Has a non-stop motor. So the good news is that he already knows what it’s like to wear the Black and Gold with pride, having been at Iowa. More good news is that he knows what it’s like to have to overachieve to be successful, having been at Iowa. Then even MORE great news than THAT is that he is already quite familiar with the Defense having to outplay the Offense, having been at Iowa. I guess going to the University of Iowa really sets you up for success! Lee’s path to the team is a little clearer, and perhaps even possible, considering the age of some players on the Defensive Line, but also taking into account that there is opportunities for upgrading some other players that may not be living up to their draft billing.

Voting for the Brett Keisel Award will open up at the conclusion of Camp after the announcement of the 53 Man Roster. Make sure to keep an eye on the Steel Curtain Network’s Camp Confidential coverage leading up to the first preseason game against the Houston Texans on August 9!