Football
Making the jump from college football to the NFL is a tall task for young players. No longer is the game part of the college experience where players are student-athletes and have school responsibilities.
Now, they’re in the real world, so to speak. Football is a job.
It’s also a long, grinding season that they have to adjust to. For rookies, it’s an even bigger adjustment because the pre-draft process can be draining with all-star games, the NFL Combine, pro days, the draft and then rookie minicamp.
All of that is on the player’s plate before there are OTAs, mandatory minicamp and then training camp. Then, of course, there’s the season, which is 17 games and potentially more — much longer than the players will experience in college.
That rookie wall can be brutal on players both mentally and physically.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Yahya Black found that out firsthand last season. Appearing on the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast during the 2026 NFL Draft, Black recalled hitting that proverbial rookie wall and how challenging it was to deal with.
“That whole beginning and then getting into preseason [was tough], but also our bye week was early,” Black said of the rookie wall, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And after the bye week, I was good for a couple more games and then I hit a mean wall.
“I went home and I told my wife, I was like, ‘I’m tired.’ She’s like, ‘Go to sleep.’ I was like, ‘No, like I’m tired.’ I don’t want to go in today.’”
Having that bye week early in the season in Week 5 after the trip to Dublin to take on the Minnesota Vikings was tough for the Steelers. After that bye week, the Steelers ended up playing 14 straight games, including the playoffs.
That was difficult for Black. He’d never played more than 13 games in a season at Iowa during his collegiate career, so to do 14 straight after already going through four games early in the season on top of training camp, minicamp, OTAs, rookie minicamp and the pre-draft process was tough.
His play never quite showed that rookie wall, though.
In Weeks 10, 12 and 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions — ironically all three were road games — Black had his best performances of the season. According to Pro Football Focus, Black graded out at a 91.0 against the Chargers, a 91.7 against the Bears and an 82.6 against the Lions.
From Weeks 6 to 18 in the regular season, Black played 304 of his 416 regular-season snaps. His play didn’t really drop off despite hitting that proverbial rookie wall, which is a positive. Even when he might have been exhausted, Black was ready to go on the field and was a key rotational piece for the Steelers up front.
Now that he has finished the first lap around the track in the NFL, Black should be better suited to deal with the long grind of an NFL season in 2026 and beyond.
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