Sylvester has build, but pleasant demeanor belies brutality of sport by The Gaming Today’s, Mark Mayer

Stevenson Sylvester looks like a football player, but his unassuming, pleasant demeanor belies the sheer brutality of the sport.

“It’s great playing for such a class organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers and a coach like Mike Tomlin,” said Sylvester as he ate breakfast with a lady friend at a popular local eatery. “Coach treats you as men and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.”

Sylvester is listed on the Steelers roster as a 6-2, 231-pound linebacker. He was a college standout at Utah, especially in his junior season as the defensive leader on a 13-0 team that smacked Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, but was denied national championship consideration.

Sylvester’s uniform hangs at Valley High School in between the Maddux brothers’ (Greg and Mike), yet he was not highly recruited. It was not until his senior season at Valley that Utah courted him and, in fact, turned out to be the only school that made a scholarship offer.

“I didn’t really like the way the UNLV football program was at that time or the way the coaching staff treated me so I looked elsewhere,” Sylvester said. “I liked everything about Utah and Coach (Kyle) Whittingham and was happy with the way things turned out.”

Unfortunately, Sylvester’s junior year at Utah exceeded his senior season stats and his value in the 2010 NFL Draft diminished to a fifth round selection. However, being picked by a solidly run organization as the Steelers has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Sylvester went to the Super Bowl in his rookie season and spent his second year playing special teams and reserve linebacker behind James Farrier.

“I’ve learned quite a lot playing behind Farrier and I really enjoy being around James Harrison,” he said. “I know Harrison has this reputation, but he’s really a great guy to be around.”

Sylvester was philosophical about Pittsburgh’s first round playoff loss to Denver and Tim Tebow.

“Tim is a winner and we prepared for him in that way,” he said. “We got beat on a great play.”

Sylvester’s pro career is a work in progress, strikingly similar to what he experienced at both Valley High and Utah.

First dealing with being lightly recruited, then the lowering of his draft status and finally having to play behind that solid linebacking corps at Pittsburgh.

“I enjoyed playing on special teams and the opportunities I’ve had at linebacker when they’ve come,” he said. “I’ll just keep working hard.”

As a freshman at Utah, Sylvester started three games. As a junior, he was one of the defensive captains. His best game was against, surprise, UNLV when he had 14 tackles. The Sugar Bowl effort against Alabama wasn’t shabby either – seven tackles, three sacks, an interception and a recovered fumble.

Still, Sylvester had to settle for second team All-Mountain West in that 13-0 junior season.

“I’m just happy to be with the Steelers,” Sylvester said.

In time, Sylvester will be a star. History has already shown that.

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