Who is Troy Fautanu? Meet the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round NFL Draft pick
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Troy Fautanu is the newest member of the Pittsburgh Steelers after being selected in the first round of Thursday's NFL Draft.
Fautanu heard his name called at No. 20 and now joins an offensive line ready to take the next step in 2024.
What college did Troy Fautanu attend?
The 23-year-old Fautanu spent five seasons at the University of Washington. After redshirting in 2019, he saw his first college football action in 2020 as a reserve before starting three games in 2021.
He burst onto the scene in 2022, starting all 13 games for the Huskies and earning all-conference honors.
The 2023 season cemented Fautanu as one of the best offensive linemen in college football. He started 15 games at left tackle and earned all-conference and All-American honors. He was also the key piece on an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line in college football.
Why did the Pittsburgh Steelers draft Troy Fautanu?
After the selection, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Fautanu was the "highest-rated player on our board," according to the team's website.
"Right now, he is a tackle," Tomlin said. "We legitimately see him as a tackle."
Tomlin went on to say that the offensive lineman is a "black-and-gold type of guy."
"His commitment to the game, his passion for the game really was evident in communicating with him," Tomlin said. "His passion is real. It is a calling card, coupled with his tremendous athletic talent."
Omar Khan, general manager of the Steelers, said Fautanu "was one of the guys that we were hoping would be there and that we were targeting," according to the team's website.
On Friday, Fautanu arrived in Pittsburgh and met his new teammates and coaches..
"The last 24 hours have been a blur, man, to be honest," Fautanu said. "It's been hectic. Crazy to think back 16 hours ago, or however long ago it was, I got my name called in the NFL Draft, something I've been working for my entire life."
Troy Fautanu's NFL Combine numbers
At the NFL Combine, Fautanu measured in at 6-foot-4, 317 pounds. He has 34 1/2-inch arms and 9 1/2-inch hands.
He also ran the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds with a 1.71 10-yard split. He added a 32.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 5-inch broad jump.
Troy Fautanu grew up a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers
On the draft broadcast, it was mentioned that Fautanu was a Steelers fan growing up and he idolized Troy Polamalu.
"I think his dad is the original Steelers fan in the household, " Tomlin said, according to the team's website. "But he's really excited to be here."
"It all started with Troy Polamalu," Fautanu said on Friday. "I was a big Troy Polamalu fan. Watching him, you get to see what the Steelers are about. How they play football, what brand of football that is. I took that and put it into my own game. When I think of the Steelers, I think of gritty, work in the trenches."
At his draft party in Las Vegas, Fautanu was emotional when he learned he was picked by the team on Thursday night.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Nov. 24, 2016, Fautanu said, "steeler nation boyyyyy."
Got our guy 💯 pic.twitter.com/qbaLxhjecj
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 26, 2024
"It couldn't have gone any better, to be honest," he said on Friday. "I grew up a Troy Polamalu fan. I wore No. 43 pretty much my whole life until I had to switch to O-line and I couldn't wear it."