Steelers' rookie Tre Norwood used to playing multiple positions -- often in same game

May 11—When Mike Tomlin announced the Pittsburgh Steelers' seventh-round draft pick May 1 and called Tre Norwood a Swiss Army knife, he left out an important detail.

Norwood didn't just play multiple positions in the secondary during his redshirt junior season at Oklahoma.

"He did it throughout the same game," Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. "Over the course of a Saturday night, he would play all of those spots."

Those included outside corner, nickel corner, free safety and strong safety.

Swiss Army knife, indeed.

"If you watched our film this year, he would line up at the field safety spot, then play the nickel spot almost every other series," Grinch said. "He would go back and forth, and he was trained in all of those areas. You don't see that all that much. You may have a guy go down and play nickel or dime on third down or in a special package. I'm talking about him being a constant between those spots."

It remains to be seen where the Steelers will use the 6-foot, 194-pound defensive back. The first indication could come this weekend when the Steelers hold a three-day rookie minicamp at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

The Steelers need to replace nickel corner Mike Hilton, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency. Cameron Sutton was a candidate for that role, but after the release of starting corner Steve Nelson, he will play on the outside opposite the Steelers' other starting corner, Joe Haden. James Pierre and Justin Layne are vying for roles in the secondary.

Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds are the starting safeties, and veteran Arthur Maulet was signed after the draft to provide depth at the position.

Grinch thinks Norwood projects best as a safety. For his part, Norwood said he will be ready for anything, which is the attitude he took at Oklahoma.

"That's something I've just tried to train myself mentally to be able to do," he said, "for that mental capacity to be able to understand those different positions on the back end. I feel like it brings a lot of value, especially how the game is nowadays."

If Norwood provides the type of secondary coverage he did in the second half of his 2020 season, the Steelers will find a role for him somewhere on the roster.

"Versatility helps (players), and it helps us," Tomlin said. "By that, I mean when you're a young guy trying to carve out a niche for yourself, versatility aids you in doing so. It also aids us in terms of making decisions and finding work for them. Versatility is an asset that we're really excited about. It helps all parties involved."

Norwood emerged as a draft prospect when he intercepted five passes in the final six games of Oklahoma's 11-game season. That tied him for the lead in the Big 12 and ranked third nationally.

"Regardless of position, he was a guy who had a knack for not only being around the football," Grinch said, "but he had the opportunity to make the play when his number was called."

Grinch also coaches Oklahoma's safeties, the same position he held at Ohio State before he was hired as the Sooners defensive coordinator in 2019. After watching Norwood, who had started 14 games as a sophomore, play that spring, he thought he had found a cornerstone of his system.

"As we're trying to turn around the defense and with the transition of a new staff coming in, he was a guy we looked at like, 'Hey, we've got one here. This is a guy we can trust to get the job done,' " Grinch said. "Then in the first practice of fall camp, he was done."

Norwood tore an ACL in a noncontact drill. The injury cost him the 2019 season. Without the benefit of any spring work because of the pandemic, Norwood hadn't played a down of football in two years when the 2020 season began.

"That's tough going for any guy," Grinch said. "But he attacked it and kept at it. He had a great attitude."

Although Norwood was used all over the Oklahoma secondary, he didn't recapture a starting role until the second half of last year, when he made all five of his starts. He named outstanding defensive player of the Cotton Bowl after he returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in Oklahoma's 55-20 victory against Florida.

"He had very productive film, which sometimes you lose sight of with the rankings and ratings and all of the draft buzz," Grinch said. "Tre's film backs up his ability to play the game. He was a very productive player for us."

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .