Shaun Nua

[Stlrs4Life]

Nua's stock rises


When the San Francisco 49ers tried to sign defensive end Shaun Nua from the practice squad in November, the Steelers quickly prevented the move by signing him to their 53-man roster.

That's a strong indication of what the Steelers think of Nua, a seventh-round pick in 2005 who came to camp bigger, stronger and more determined.

Nua has been a terror in one-on-one drills against the offensive line, using quickness and newfound strength to win nearly every individual matchup. But Nua said he knows he has to learn how to stop the run before he can play in the 3-4 defense.

"The one-on-one stuff, that's a good thing, but that's not the foundation of this D-line system," Nua said. "I would turn in every pass-rush move I have to be like Kimo [von Oelhoffen]on the run stuff, in a heartbeat. I need to show I can be physical in that line [more] than just be a pass rusher. We'll leave that to Joey [Porter] and Clark [Haggans]and those guys."

Nua, who is 6 feet 5, added 15 pounds in the offseason and weighs 290. His goal was to get big enough to play stronger against the run -- one of the top requirements of defensive ends in the 3-4 defense.

His hero and role model was von Oelhoffen, who left in free agency to sign with the New York Jets.
"Kimo always said, 'You have a good pass rush, so work on that and keep on getting better, but get a lot better in the run-stopping thing,' " said Nua, who is American Samoa. "That's what I need to focus more on. If I have a chance on this team, I need to earn coach[John] Mitchell'sand Aaron Smith's respect and especially their trust. I want them to trust me I can do this job and stop the run."

[Black@Gold Forever32]

This kid could be another Brett Keisel. I think he fills Keisel's role on special teams this year. I think it will be hard for him to get some time on our Dline. But you never know.

[Haiku_Dirtt]

The Samoans are some really bad ass dudes. I'd rather have them on our side.

Keisel will need a breather here and there so I'm expecting to see a lot of him in the next 4 weeks.

[Stlrs4Life]

I basically like it because this will give us some great talent for depth.

[SteelerMurf]

Anyone hear how that Dlineman from Miami that we drafted? He sounded like a nice guy to try to develop, but if Nua is doing so well the numbers probably aren't in Harris' favor unless Rodney Bailey bombs in the preseason.

[TasmanianTroy271]

Well, according to Steelers.com, Rodney is 6'3", 305 pounds while Harris is 6'3", 302 pounds, so basically the Steelers organization is gonna have to decide whether they want experiance or potential, because they're basically the same.

[BBC]

Man, I got excited. I thought we had Tony Bua. That guy can hit.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9P-dbvHp-hM