Heads were turning at Steelers training camp on Thursday — but it wasn’t only big plays capturing the attention of spectators. It was a pair of fights between Pro Bowl TE Jonnu Smith and FS Juan Thornhill — both stemming from one-on-one matchups.
Following practice, reporters asked Smith about the physical altercations that occurred between himself and Thornhill — and after attempting to shrug it off with short answers, he opened up more about why the fight wasn’t as dramatic as many are making it out to be.
“Listen, we’re teammates, man,” Smith told reporters. “We ain’t got no personal beef or nothing like that. We out here competing, you know what I mean? We having fun. It gets competitive when you lose and when you win. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we want to win. It brings certain characteristics out in us. We understand that we can’t take this into Sunday — so, we can let it out here in training camp.”
Ex-Steelers WR George Pickens clearly never got the memo — as he definitely took his liberties with fights on Sundays during his time in Pittsburgh.
Jokes aside, Smith’s attitude in dealing with tough questions regarding a touchy subject is commendable — exactly the veteran presence and leadership that has been sorely missed on the Steelers’ offense over the past several years.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers’ Jonnu Smith reflects on fight with Juan Thornhill at camp