First & 10
Santonio Holmes

The Steelers made Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes their first-round draft choice in 2006. As a rookie, Holmes started just four games but caught 49 passes for 824 yards and two touchdowns. He stepped into the starting line-up this fall and is off to an excellent start, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. PSR Editor Tony DeFazio chatted with Holmes after practice last month.

PSR: You've been having a great season so far. Are things coming easier this year as opposed to your rookie season last year?

Holmes: I pretty much put football first, you know? Aside from family and kids, I don't have any major responsibilities so I can dedicate a great deal of my time to football. I do everything on the field - I don't study a lot, but I learn. I learn every day from watching, from watching film, from more practice reps, from figuring out coverages on the field. And that's helped me progress from last year.

PSR: Was the transition last year tougher than you expected it to be?

SH: No, not at all. The more opportunities the coaches gave me, the more comfortable I became in this NFL league. It was tough at first because I didn't get many opportunities, and then I didn't know really what was going on. Just going out there and catching maybe one or two passes a game just wasn't really my game and I wasn't getting a good feel for it. The more opportunity the coaches started giving me, the better I started to play.

PSR: Where does it go from here?

SH: Oh man…Pro Bowl, making it to the Super Bowl, the Hall of Fame. Those aren't really specific goals, that's all in the future and I just let my play and the numbers take care of themselves.

PSR: What about your Buckeyes?

SH: My Buckeyes are No. 1 and a lot of people aren't liking that right now. They're saying that the Buckeyes lucked into it, that they don't deserve to be No. 1. But what I've been telling everybody is that if you're ranked No. 15 and every team from 1 through 14 loses, and the No. 15 team wins, where do you put them? And all the guys said No. 1. So case closed. I've got nothing else to say.

PSR: So they're No. 1 now, but can this team win a national championship?

SH: Oh no doubt. They have the potential for it this year. They have the guys. They're playing together, they've got the top defense in the country this year and the offense is progressing. If they can keep a couple guys healthy, they should be alright.

PSR: Have you had a chance to get back at all this year?

SH: I haven't been to a game since they lost the National Championship. That's the only game I've been able to get back to since I've been gone. (To which Jerame Tuman, a Michigan grad, replied, "I wouldn't go back there either if I were you, Santonio.")