Aug 4, 2016 4 min read

LATROBE – At Antonio Brown’s charity softball game in June, one player stood out among all others by hitting six home runs completely out of Consol Energy Park.

Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates proved he’s not just a home-run threat on the football field, he can swing a bat with anyone as well.

Coates is just a great all-around athlete, regardless of the sport.

And after an offseason of hard work in which he added five pounds to his 6-1 frame, pushing him to 217 pounds, he just might be a breakout star in the making. ESPN certainly thinks so. The network named him one of the NFL’s top 25 breakout candidates.

The Steelers and Coates hope that is the case. If so, Coates can point to his work on the Steelers’ scout team as being the reason why.

The scout team works each week running the next opponent’s offensive plays against the first-team defense. Coates had some early struggles last year but his work on that unit helped him become a more polished receiver.

“He got in early a little bit and missed some opportunities,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “He did a lot of work on the (scout) team and the light went off somewhere halfway through the season where he said, ‘I’m going to make sure this doesn’t happen again.’ You could see a change and he really started to work.”

Largely a deep threat at Auburn, where he finished with a career yards-per-catch average of 20.9, Coates polished his game. He finished the regular season with just one catch for 11 yards.

When star wide receiver Antonio Brown suffered a concussion in a playoff win at Cincinnati, the Steelers turned to Coates the slack the following week at Denver. He responded with two receptions for 61 yards.

“All of a sudden he’s in the biggest game of the year for us and did make plays,” Haley said. “I think the biggest thing was that week in practice, nobody worried. You saw that he was ready to go. I think that gave him and us confidence going into the offseason. He took the offseason and ran with it. He worked his butt off.”

That hard work is showing on the practice fields of Saint Vincent College. Coates has shown multiple times that he’s still a deep threat, making use of his 4.43-second 40-yard dash speed. More importantly, he’s also displaying soft hands and a greater understanding of route running.

“It’s more just knowing what’s going on around you, knowing the situation that you’re coming into,” said Coates. “I just know what to expect, what kind of condition my body needs to be in.”

The progression of Coates was the main reason the Steelers didn’t panic when Martavis Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. They drafted Coates in the third round last year as insurance for just such a situation.

And the expectation is that the offense will be just as good with Coates on the field as it was with Bryant.

“The coaches understand what we have in the room, whether you’re talking about Sammie Coates, Antonio Brown going down the field or myself going down the field,” wide receiver Markus Wheaton said. “That’s why no one is really panicking about it. We’ve just go to move on and make it work.”

It’s all part of the reality of the NFL. Players are going to be lost to injuries or suspension, but you have to keep playing.

The Steelers are confident in Coates.

“I think one of the things we did well last year is that we didn’t get dragged down by any of the negative stuff that occurred,” said Haley. “We kept moving forward. The young guys got a very real picture that they have to be ready, the next-man-up mentality.

“We lived it and we did some really good things. I think if you’re worried about that stuff, then you will get frustrated and it will affect your job. So you just keep your nose to the grindstone and getting everybody as good as they can be.”

Cornerback Artie Burns (quad) returned to practice briefly Thursday before leaving again. The first-round draft pick missed practice Wednesday. … Linebackers Bud Dupree and Ryan Shazier also sat out Thursday. … The Steelers will hold their annual night practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium Friday. It begins at 7 p.m. Players will sign autographs prior to practice and there will be fireworks at the conclusion. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children. Proceeds benefit the Latrobe High School football program. Gates open at 5 p.m.