Behind the Steel Curtain
With the Steelers concluding their preseason schedule Thursday night against Carolina, it’s time for Steelers Nation, and specifically the BTSC readership, to turn their attention towards the most prestigious award this website has to offer.
You clicked the link, so you know what I’m talking about. I’m speaking, of course, about the annual Isaac Redman Award.
If you’ve been around these parts a while, you’re undoubtedly familiar with this yearly tradition. But if you happen to be new around here and are wondering what the hell I’m on about, the mystique of Redman Award is best summed up by BTSC’s former Editor in Chief, Neal Coolong:
“The Isaac Redman Award is unofficially given each year to the unheralded Steelers player who came from the furthest reaches of obscurity to reach general heightened fame and appeal among Steelers fans.”
If you’re looking for a more specific guideline on Redman eligibility, we’ve got you covered.
Winning the Redman Award isn’t an exact science. The late-round and camp limits disqualify a lot of otherwise worthy candidates — for example, fifth-round pick Yahya Black is not eligible, neither is 2022 draft pick Skylar Thompson — and the fan element is the other major wild card. Some years, the fan support behind a single player is obvious. Some years, a surprise player makes a late push past an earlier favorite, and in others, no player manages to unify the fanbase.
Here’s a look at the history of Redman Award winners.
Ryan Parish: I’m going to kick things off by nominating a player that was the 2024 Redman frontrunner… until he wasn’t. While Cory Trice made a late surge to come away victorious, it was Beanie Bishop Jr. who was the presumed favorite for most of the 2024 preseason.
Bishop Jr. has a story Steelers fans should be familiar with at this point. Undrafted out of West Virginia University, Bishop was the starting nickel corner for roughly two-and-a-half months in Pittsburgh. He mostly played adequate ball, but was often the corner opposing teams would try to isolate into favorable matchups. His best game came against...
