Falling in love with football again

“I had lost the love of the game and my passion to have fun in football.”

If you stood in the middle of the Steelers locker room and looked around and tried to guess who said that, chances are pretty good your first three guesses would be wrong. And probably a few more after that. And then a few more.

Because the player who uttered those words radiates a love for the game, a passion for what he does every day. He is fun-loving, smiles all the time, and always seems to be enjoying himself as he jokes with those around, whether it be teammates, coaches or staff.

But you never know what a person has gone through, what they are going through, by what’s on the outside.

And that’s why nobody would have guessed it was offensive tackle Zach Banner who uttered those words.

If you are wondering how a football player could lose that passion, just take a minute to learn about Banner’s journey to the Steelers.

Coming out of USC, Banner had high hopes of being an early-round draft pick. But his weight was an issue, and it proved costly, dropping him down to the fourth round, where he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2017 NFL draft.

“My weight kept going up, which is why I dropped to the fourth round,” said Banner. “That is the truth. The coaches will tell you that.”

But the fourth round is nothing to sneeze at. Most fourth-round picks make a team’s