Friday’s “First Call” suggests that the secondary could be a primary point of interest in the draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite a high asking price, a former Pitt legend loves what Malik Willis could bring at QB to the Steelers — or anyone else.
Duquesne takes on the best in the Atlantic-10 in men’s basketball, while the women’s team also gets a first-place opponent. Robert Morris hopes to continue its winning ways on the court and looks for playoff positioning on the ice. And Pitt’s basketball team is angling for a split out west.
Safety … first?
TribLive Steelers writer Chris Adamski is at the NFL Scouting Combine. He thinks the Steelers are more interested in the crop of talent at safety than he expected before attending the event in Indianapolis.
“There’s a lot more momentum — being here, talking to prospects and being around people — about the Steelers looking safety more than I thought before I got here,” Adamski said on the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “More and more momentum about (safety) earlier in the draft than maybe I thought. I’m not saying — necessarily — a first-round pick or anything. But it’s on the table more than I thought it was before this week.”
DeShon Elliott should be back from injury next year. Unless the Steelers move Jalen Ramsey, he can take snaps at safety again, but they’d probably like to move him to the slot on occasion, play to play or week to week. Chuck Clark, Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger are all unrestricted free agents.
Various reports claim the Steelers have met with Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, TCU’s Bud Clark, LSU Mansoor Delane and Arizona’s Genesis Smith in some capacity or another at the combine. A.J. Halucy of LSU and Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley are two other safeties that may fit Adamski’s description.
Early-round safety prospect Zakee Wheatley on what he learned from the disappointment of the early part of last season at Penn St and rallying to win their last four pic.twitter.com/ZjNbAXwFKM
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) February 26, 2026
Downs, Thieneman and Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are the only three safeties ESPN.com has rated within the top 64 prospects for the first two rounds.
Malik’s money
Former Pitt star LeSean “Shady” McCoy posted a ringing endorsement for quarterback Malik Willis. The ex-Tennessee Titan and current Green Bay Packers backup QB is hitting the free-agent market and has often been linked to the Steelers in offseason speculation.
“I watched him develop into a solid QB … took his losses and bad play, got better and better now when you watch him, he has developed by miles,” Willis said.
McCoy hosts the “Speakeasy” show with fellow NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho. He was quote-tweeting a post from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, who is reporting that Willis’s asking price will be at least $30 million per year.
I watched him develop into a solid QB.. took his losses and bad play , got better and better now when you watch him he has developed by miles https://t.co/hD29uP3jCR
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) February 25, 2026
Willis has only made six starts in his four-year career. He posted a 134.6 passer rating in two years and 11 games with the Packers.
Madison’s moment
New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes got a big crowd pop for his Team USA heroics before the Penguins-Devils game on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
So did the four Pens Elite alumni who played for the women’s gold medal team.
Women’s Gold medal winning Team USA members from Pens Elite honored at PPG Paints Arena pic.twitter.com/RQe81AYIkl
— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 27, 2026
But Penguins coach Dan Muse went out of his way in his postgame comments to applaud video coach Madison Nikkel, who was also recognized on the video board before the puck was dropped. He served in that same capacity for the gold medal-winning men’s team in Italy.
Muse says that he has had that role in international competitions in the past, and the hours required are remarkably demanding.
“Those guys are just living at the rink. I have a pretty good feel for how much he invested in that tournament,” Muse said. “For him to be part of a gold medal winning team, it couldn’t happen to a better guy. I’m thrilled for him, and I know the quality of work that he does on a daily basis. I know he had a big impact on that team.”
Nikkel had that job for the United States team during last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off. He has been with the Penguins organization since 2016. He started as video coach of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Speaking of the Olympics, Muse just got his 30th win as Pens head coach Thursday night, passing 1980 Team USA coach Herb Brooks for 20th on the all-time franchise win list. Brooks went 29-24-5 in 58 games on the bench during Pittsburgh’s 1999-2000 season.
Up and down
Two of Pittsburgh’s men’s college basketball teams are attempting to rediscover their winning ways. The other is trying to keep a winning streak alive.
Robert Morris (20-12, 12-7 Horizon League) has a home game against Cleveland State (10-20, 6-13) at 1 p.m. Saturday. Andy Toole’s team has won six in a row. The Colonials are tied with Oakland in second place of the Horizon League, two back of conference-leading Wright State.
However, RMU has beaten Wright State twice and Oakland once during their current streak.
After winning five in a row, Duquesne has dropped two straight. Now it has to play the Atlantic 10’s best team Saturday. The Dukes (16-12, 8-7) are at Saint Louis to play the 23rd-ranked Billikens. St. Louis (25-3) leads the A-10 with a 13-2 conference record. But they have dropped two of their last three games to Rhode Island and Dayton.
Duquesne took SLU to the wire Jan. 20 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse but ended up losing 81-77.
As for Pitt (10-18, 3-12), the Panthers visit Cal (20-8, 8-7) at 4 p.m. Saturday. They have won once in their past seven games. This is their second consecutive game out west, having dropped a 75-67 decision at Stanford on Wednesday. The school’s women’s team lost 79-58 at Miami on Thursday night.
Duquesne’s women’s team (11-17, 4-13) welcomes George Mason (20-8, 15-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday. GMU is tied with Rhode Island atop the A-10. RMU’s women’s team has a 4 p.m. tip Saturday at home against Wright State.
Closing it ‘aht
The Robert Morris men’s hockey team is concluding its regular season this weekend. The Colonials have a home-and-home series against Mercyhurst.
The first game is Friday night at 7 at the RMU Island Sports Center. The Saturday game is in Erie with a 5 p.m. start.
The Colonials are tied for fourth place with Holy Cross at 39 points apiece. The top four teams host a best-of-three quarterfinal playoff series next weekend. The Colonials can finish anywhere between second and seventh place, depending on how games shake out this weekend across the conference.
The seventh and eighth teams host one-game elimination contests Tuesday night against the bottom two teams in the standings. The winners stay alive to play over the weekend in quarterfinal competition.
The Lakers have 19 points. They are in 10th place. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Colonials won a 3-1 contest in Erie and tied the Lakers 1-1 before claiming an extra point in the shootout.
This will be the final regular-season series for longtime Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin. He’s been on the Lakers’ bench since 1988, taking over the program after its first year of existence. Gotkin took the Lakers to the NCAA Tournament in 2005.
Listen: Chris Adamski joins Tim Benz from Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine