Content with his place among the organizational hierarchy — and perhaps self-aware of his lane and his strengths — Pittsburgh Steelers assistant head coach Joe Whitt Jr. gave an honest answer when asked when seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings first got onto his personal radar.
“When (the scouting department) gave me the (draft board) list,” Whitt said with a smile soon after the selection of Spears-Jennings with the 224th overall pick last week. “They gave us a list of guys, and I look at them. And then we rank them from there.”
The thing about Spears-Jennings, though, was that it didn’t take too deep a dive before Whitt knew he liked what he saw in the safety from Oklahoma.
“Yeah, a Pittsburgh Steeler is a certain type of guy that we want to bring in here — especially with (new head coach) Mike McCarthy,” said Whitt, who also holds the title of secondary coach. “He’s the type of kid that he plays extremely hard. When he does get knocked down, you can see he gets up and he has a grittiness about himself.
“That’s type of kid that we want on our defense and on our team.”
Steelers assistant head coach/secondary Joe Whitt on 7th-rd pick Robert Spears-Jennings pic.twitter.com/jwpuxztzbH
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 25, 2026
Putting aside Spears-Jennings’ demeanor and intangibles, it’s easy to see why the Steelers would want him. Athletes who are 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, can run the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds (the fastest of any safety at this year’s combine) and are multi-year starters at a blue blood program that made the College Football Playoff last year on the strength of its defense? A prospect with that kind of resume isn’t easy to find — especially late on Day 3 of the draft.
“Yeah, size and speed,” general manager Omar Khan said. “Value at that spot. Our scouts really liked him. A special teams contributor, a lot to like there.”
Last season for Oklahoma, Spears-Jennings lined up at free safety for 281 snaps, as an in-the-box strong safety for 204 snaps and as a slot/nickel coverage man for 92 (data courtesy Pro Football Focus).
Spears-Jennings tied for fifth in the nation in forced fumbles in 2024 with four. He also had 2 1/2 sacks and five tackles for loss that season. Over the past two seasons he combined for 126 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups.
“He’s a guy that can play in the box, (and) he has the speed to play in high zones,” Whitt said. “So he’s not limited by anything from a skillset standpoint. We’ll use him depending on the guys around him (on the defense).”
Spears-Jennings also played extensively on special teams, which is where he would seem to be able to excel as a rookie.
“He had the skill set that we were looking for,” Whitt said. “He’s a kid that I personally liked and we liked as a defensive staff.”
All indications are it’s easy to like Spears-Jennings upon meeting him, a quality some attribute to his background.
Both of Spears-Jennings’ parents served in the Navy, and his grandfather is an Army veteran.
According to his official Oklahoma football bio,Spears-Jennings was born in South Carolina and lived in Maryland, Florida, Virginia, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas before ending up at Broken Arrow, Okla., for high school.
“I can’t thank it enough,” Spears-Jennings said of being raised in a military family. “It made me accountable, made me team-oriented, made me learn how to work with a team because I’m always moving around. I adapt well, very coachable.
“That’s what the military did for me.”