A final season with 1,395 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns at Georgia Tech could not help Jonathan Dwyer overcome a poor performance at the 2010 scouting combine. Concerns about his weight and conditioning caused the running back, who currently is listed at 5-foot-11 and 229 pounds, to slide all the way to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 188th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
In two seasons in Pittsburgh, weight issues have landed him in Mike Tomlin's doghouse. Official playing-time documents have Dwyer, who's been active in only eight games, logging just 43 snaps in his career. On those 43 snaps, Dwyer has 25 carries for 151 yards, including 76 yards on one run last October. Dwyer also has one reception for six yards.
With Rashard Mendenhall coming off a torn ACL, the opportunity for a bigger role in the Steelers' offense is there for the taking. So to get out of Tomlin's doghouse permanently, Dwyer is putting down the Primanti Brothers' sandwich and is heading to Bommarito Performance Systems in South Florida to slim down before training camp opens later this month, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
"I am just realizing how much it takes to get where you are in this league and how hard you have to work and push yourself," Dwyer said. "This is my year to prove something to myself, the league, to the organization, that I am worth more than what I was."
While the Steelers might have preferred the light to come on earlier in Dwyer's career, it's better late than never for a player who won't turn 23 until the second day of this year's training camp.
