Friday’s “First Call” has an odd story about an old pre-draft interview involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Steeler has landed a new gig in an NFC secondary. The Penguins got some good — and some bad — results from Metropolitan Division outcomes Thursday night.

And there were lots of Pittsburgh ties in NCAA Sweet 16 action Thursday night.

’Nice to meet you too’

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones was on “The Script” podcast with fellow Buckeye alum Beanie Wells.

During his appearance, Jones described his pre-draft meeting with the Steelers in 2016. His story didn’t exactly paint the experience in a favorable light.

“I walked in, and the first thing Coach Tomlin said to me was, ‘Man, I hate your social media,’” Jones said. “I’m just like, ‘Nice to meet you too.’”

For background, Jones caught heat during his career at Ohio State for complaining on Twitter about being forced to go to class while being a college football player.

Jones added that an unidentified person at the back of the room asked him questions about the layout of his normal day at OSU.

“Every time I’m trying to get into detail, he’s cutting me off. So I turned into a straight jerk. … I went full-blown, ‘(Screw) you, (Screw) the Steelers, I don’t even wanna be here anymore.’”

The Steelers clearly felt the same way. He wasn’t drafted by them, and he never played here during his four-year NFL career.

Jones was drafted by Buffalo and played in just one game there. He spent two years with the Chargers and one week with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, but never saw the field.

 

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Seeing ’Spoon soon

A former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back has a new job. It’s cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.

According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Witherspoon is signing with the Washington Commanders. The former Colorado Buffalo had been with the Los Angeles Rams for the past three seasons.

Washington’s general manager is Adam Peters. He drafted Witherspoon out of Colorado in 2017 as a third-rounder. He spent four seasons there before briefly going to Seattle and eventually the Steelers during the 2021 season.

Over two years in Pittsburgh, Witherspoon played in 13 games and tallied four interceptions. He had five picks and two fumble recoveries in 36 games with the Rams.

The Commanders also have former Steeler Darius Rush on the roster at cornerback.

Keeping tabs

As the Penguins were beating the Ottawa Senators in a shootout Thursday night, they were getting mixed results in the rest of the Metropolitan Division.

In one sense, the Pens got help when Columbus lost in Montreal, 2-1. Zack Bolduc netted the game-winner for the Canadiens in the third period.

However, the New York Islanders beat the Dallas Stars at home, 2-1. Bo Horvat and Cal Ritchie scored for the Isles. Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 of 27 shots.

That means the Penguins are back in second place with 88 points. Columbus and New York both have 87.

The Blue Jackets currently own the final automatic qualifying spot for the Eastern Conference playoffs because they have only played 71 games. The Islanders have played 72. The Islanders are in the second wild-card position.

The shootout loss by Ottawa means the Senators are just one point behind the Islanders for the final wild card spot with 86 points.

Tough way to go

Former Pitt star Sean Miller had a rough exit from the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The Texas Longhorns coach watched as his team got eliminated by Purdue, 79-77, on a last-second tip-in from Trey Kaufman-Renn.

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So Miller’s season ends in the Sweet 16. He has still never coached in a Final Four in 21 years split between Texas, Xavier and Arizona.

Purdue will next play Arizona in the Elite Eight. That’s because the Wildcats beat Moon’s John Calipari and Arkansas, 109-88. Lincoln Park’s Meleek Thomas had 17 points in the loss.

Meanwhile, Iowa beat Nebraska, 77-71. Alvaro Folgueiras had 16 points.

The former Robert Morris star has 44 points in three tournament games for the Hawkeyes. They’ll play Illinois in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Illini squeezed by the Cougars, 65-55.

Amari Evans, a freshman who once played at Bishop Canevin, will take the floor with Tennessee against Iowa State on Friday night.