Football: Sheard successful in jump to NFL

Former Pitt defensive end Jabaal Sheard didn’t let the NFL lockout hamper his rookie… Former Pitt defensive end Jabaal Sheard didn’t let the NFL lockout hamper his rookie season.

Instead, Sheard got a head start in preparing for the professional level, working out with some of his new Cleveland Browns teammates and several free agents during the summer.

“Two or three guys ended up on the team with me and fit in well,” Sheard said. “It was nice coming in and knowing some veteran guys.”

Sheard was selected as Cleveland’s second round pick, and Baylor’s standout defensive tackle, Phil Taylor, was taken in the first round.

The two rookies have worked hard throughout camp and the preseason to all but assure them a place on the starting defensive line when they take the field against their in-state rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, on September 11.

Sheard is first on the Browns’ depth chart at right defensive end with third year player Marcus Benard listed on the second team. Jayme Mitchell, a fifth year player out of Mississippi, will start at left defensive end.

Former Penn State player Scott Paxson will back up Taylor at defensive tackle with fourth year player Ahtyba Rubin also starting at defensive tackle.

“It’s great to have another rookie on the defensive line with me,” Sheard said. “We’re going through all the same problems together. A lot of the stuff is just refreshing since we both come from 4-3 defenses. We are at the same pace, and we help each other when we can.”

Sheard, the 36th overall pick in the NFL draft, was the 2010 Big East Defensive Player of the Year — the fifth Panther since 2006 to win the award.

He came to Pitt from Hollywood Hills, Fla. and racked up 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery during his senior season.

It was enough to catch the Cleveland Browns’ attention in the second round.

“I was in Florida with my family and my agent at the house. The 36th pick came up, and I got the phone call from Cleveland,” Sheard said. “My mom was screaming and crying. I couldn’t come right up to Cleveland to meet everyone, but it was still a great experience.”

NFLDraftScout.com writer Rob Rang predicted before the draft that Sheard would adjust well to the NFL, writing that Sheard “will be more productive as a rookie than at least a few of the more highly touted defensive ends of this draft.”

Cleveland’s head coach, Phil Shurmur, has been impressed with Sheard’s performance at the professional level so far.

“He’s been very steady, steadier than you might expect from a rookie, in terms of just generally playing well. That’s good,” Shurmur said in a press conference during training camp. “He’s like anybody right now. He’s tired and sore. We like to think when he gets his legs freshened for a game situation, he’ll be more explosive. He’s doing well.”

Some of the Browns’ veteran players have helped Sheard adjust to playing at the next level.

“We’re around a lot of veterans here,” Sheard said. “Those guys teach us small techniques and a lot of stuff that they have picked up on during their career.”

But the biggest help for Sheard doesn’t come from the defensive side of the ball.

Cleveland’s all pro offensive tackle Joe Thomas out of Wisconsin has been advising Sheard throughout training camp.

“He’s a great player, and you learn a lot going up against a great player like that,” Sheard said. “You know you’re going against one of the top tackles, and he’s making me better.”

Shurmur said that he believes Sheard is making Thomas an even better tackle as well.

“Going back and watching the one-on-ones and then the competition in team, we think he’s [Sheard] doing a fine job,” Shurmur said. “The competition of him against Joe Thomas makes them both better.”

Thomas also advises Sheard on fixing bad habits that tackles will take advantage of.

“He gives me tips about what I’m showing and lets me know how he knows what I’m going to do,” he said. “He tells me when I’m dropping my head, and when I’m doing that, he makes me eat grass.”

Sheard said he has noticed a change in the game from college to the NFL.

“The hardest part was really deciding which side [left or right defensive end], and eventually making the move to right,” he said. “The game is a lot faster and everyone is much stronger. It’s still football.”

Fellow rookie Taylor said in a press conference that he also noticed a difference between the college and professional game.

“You got to use your hands a lot more at this level because in college you can get away with just bull rushing a guy and things like that,” Taylor said “But at this level guys have more technique so you got to use your hands a lot more.”

It is still football, and it is a brand of football he played at Pitt all four years under former coach Dave Wannstedt.

“A lot of stuff doesn’t change. The offenses are the same as I went up against in practice,” he said. “A lot of those things that didn’t change really helped me get here and compete faster.”

One adjustment for most college players is leaving behind guys that they spent the majority of their time with for four or five years of their lives.

Sheard walks into the Browns’ locker room every day and sees a familiar face in Pitt’s 2010 left tackle Jason Pinkston.

“It is definitely nice to have him there,” he said. “We relate to each other, and we have someone to hang out with.”