‘A guy who’s gonna give it his all’ — An interview with Max Iheanachor’s college coach

Saga Tuitele: No, honestly, I didn’t see it coming. You know, you see the projections and stuff like that, but I didn’t think it was going to be the Steelers. It’s funny, we were standing next to each other, and when his phone rang, whoever called him from the Steelers had a Philadelphia number. So I was like, “Oh s—-, the Eagles, here we go,” you know? And then, they had moved up in the draft.

I was like, “OK, it’s going” and then they drafted someone else. I was like, “Whoa, what the hell.” And then Max motioned to grab the Steelers hat. And I was like, “Oh, OK.” So I had no, no idea that they were going to draft him. And you never really do, but it was awesome,

RB: I was curious, how connected were the Steelers to Max leading up to the draft? Like, do you think that having Hines Ward on staff at ASU helped them get info on him at all, or was there not too much to read into there?

ST: No, I don’t know. I mean, most of the teams are very professional. I will say that I know I talked to the scouts multiple occasions throughout their process, from his junior year all the way through. But honestly, I’m assuming they leaned on Hines a little bit. But like I said, they played it close to the vest. And I don’t  remember seeing anybody saying that they were gonna pick him back at that pick.

RB: Moving back a bit, reading up on Max was really cool. I mean, as you obviously know, he didn’t play football growing up, then he goes the JUCO route. Tell me a bit about how you found him at East Los Angeles College.

ST: Well, I was looking at someone else, honestly. I was at Fresno State at the time, and you know, we were looking for an older tackle, more experienced. We were in the middle of our Mountain West championship run that year, and we were going to lose some seniors. So we were looking for an older tackle, and on his team, there was a young man on the team that had some experience and then it’s just like, “Well, who the hell is that kid over there? ”

And it was just, you know, big athlete that didn’t really know what he was doing, but you can tell had some good balance, good feet, obviously, the good size. He wasn’t as thick as he is now, but, you know, good, big calves, the big size, and the big backside and long arms. And if you put some weight on this kid and he figures it out, he might be something special.

So, you know, just getting to know the kid and seeing what his drive was, I think, kind of put it all together.

RB: When you first brought Max into practice, when did you really realize that you had a future starter in him?

ST: His ability to move, his quickness, you know, and he has natural power. But just when you see him move, and a big man like that in drills — now, remember, he was raw, so he didn’t know what he’s doing. And so you had to really focus on, “OK, what can he do?” I mean, it’s easy to point out what the kid can’t do – he can’t do this, he can’t do this. That’s easy. Anybody can do it.

But, you know, I thought we did a great job of, “OK, what can he do?” He can move his feet. He can stay pretty balanced, you know, he doesn’t overextend. OK, let’s focus on that and give him confidence in that part of it, instead of figuring out what he can’t do.

And then, once we realize athletically that he can change direction and he can bend his knees a little bit. And again, I use that term “balance,” and he just, he always got a good feel of being off – whether he was overextended, or whether he was getting pushed back, he always found himself back to a strong position.

So, you know, we also knew it’s gonna take a while, because of where he came from. But, we thought we were spot on in our evaluation of him, as long as he had that same drive, which he did.

RB: For sure. And he got a pretty early start for you guys in 2023, right?

ST: Yeah, injuries, and it was our first year on staff with that team, at Arizona State. And we knew we had some injuries and he had to thrust into, I think it was Game 2, Oklahoma State, and (we) said, “Alright, Max, it’s like practice.” And, you know, he took it and I think he did a good job of overcoming some of the tough things that happened to him.

RB: I’m not sure if you read any of them, but there’s like a million scouting reports about Max online. You know, draft season is this crazy media circus. But, is there a part of his game or something that you feel like people haven’t really talked about a lot in this draft cycle?

ST: No, I mean, I’ve seen some of them, and I think it’s spot on. I mean, he’s got big hands. I think his football IQ is further along than what people think. In some of the Senior Bowl stuff – and just even, our offense is pretty complex – and so for him to pick it up, and for him to be able to do what he did at a high level. …

But I think the term “raw” is by timeline only. You know, he can call our offense just like if he was the center; he can make all the blocking calls and stuff like that. So, probably a little bit, you know, the whole “raw” thing was just because he started so late in football.

RB: Most of my questions have been about Max as a player, but I did want to ask about Max as a person. I mean, I listened to his starting presser with the Steelers. He just seemed really down to earth and like a cool guy. I mean, what kind of person is Pittsburgh getting? Do you have a favorite memory of hanging out with Max?

ST: You know, the first time I met him, he said his name, and I just was like, “What’s your name? How do you say it?” And then, myself having a unique last name and first name as well. And I just remember him saying his name and he and I talking about the importance of pride in our last names.

I said it’s unique. And I said, don’t feel disrespected if a coach or a person mispronounces your name; they don’t know. Same thing is, you know, don’t be afraid to correct them on the correction of your name. So I just remember having that conversation with him. I said, “Man, you are Max Iheanachor.” And just, you know, smiling about it. Just like, my name is a little bit unique.

And so you get a guy who’s gonna give it his all. He’s great. He’s grateful being here. He’s grateful (for) the opportunity to play football, and, you know, I know he’s going to give it his all for his city and for his team. And the thing that Max is, is he’s driven like he wants to be the best, and everything that we’ve asked him to do, and every obstacle that he’s been thrown, he’s been able to overcome it.

I think one of his best attributes is the ability to respond through good and bad. So I think you’re getting the kid that loves ball, loves where he’s at, appreciated where he’s at, and he was gonna give it his all and fit in and make the Steeler nation proud.

RB: In that same presser, the Steelers head coach (Mike McCarthy) kept talking about how important versatility was on his O-line. I know that Max was primarily a right tackle for you guys, but how versatile is he? Where can he fit in on this line?

ST: He can play in both positions. You know, he can play right or left tackle. Max is the kind of kid, if coach wants him to play guard, he’ll jump right in and he’ll fight, and he’ll figure it out. So I think his versatility, and because (of) his football IQ – and he knows what to do and how to do it – and he knows how to learn, he knows how to do a lot of that stuff. I think that’s going to help him.

RB: Where do you hope to see Max take his game next, now that he’s in the NFL?

ST: Well, I know he’s going to continue to strive to be the best, and he’s going to have some lumps, but I’m not worried about the lumps, because you can’t grow without the lumps, and he’s able to respond to that.

So, you know, all I hope is that he stays healthy and he continues to improve and make Steeler nation proud, because that’s what his mindset is. He wants to make sure that he’s representing his family and his junior college and his Arizona State, but also Steeler nation.

You can read more about Saga Tuitele’s work at Arizona State here.