When Larry Foote went down with a biceps injury in Week 1 last season, the Steelers were forced to sign an inside linebacker off the street to play. Even with major needs at cornerback and wide receiver, the Steelers went back to their favorite school — Ohio State — and favorite conference — the Big Ten — to draft Buckeyes inside linebacker Ryan Shazier in the first round Thursday night. General manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin repeated the same phrase to describe the 6-foot-1, 237-pound Shazier, a fast, disruptive, high-motor player who ran a cornerback-like 4.38 40 at his pro day. “What we needed was a defensive playmaker,” Tomlin said. “He gets after the quarterback, he's rushed the passer and makes plays in coverage. … Quite frankly, the man doesn't have any holes.” “He's a defensive playmaker,” Colbert said. “And as coach said, we need defensive playmakers. … This guy can flat-out run.” The Steelers have lost a succession of such players — LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, James Farrior, Aaron Smith — to age and contract issues in recent seasons, and it partially led to their 8-8 records the past two seasons. Shazier is a certified stats accumulator — 14 career sacks, 441⁄2 tackles for loss, nine forced fumbles, a Big Ten-leading 143 tackles in 2013 — but some teams considered him undersized. While Shazier said, “My weight is perfectly fine,” Colbert said, “He has to get stronger, he's going to have to get bigger. - See more at: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/5926203-74/shazier-steelers-linebacker#axzz31Dy4fFLF
