New Steelers Defensive Back Makes a Promise to the Team
The Steelers were looking to strengthen their secondary group ahead of training camp this year. They signed Notre Dame defensive back Max Hurleman. He was an undrafted free agent. Hurleman spent four years playing football for the Colgate University Raiders. Throughout four seasons, he played in 35 games. He started in 23 of those games. He spent his graduate year playing football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He played in 16 games.
Hurleman played wide receiver and running back before switching to defensive back for his final collegiate football season. Throughout his college football career, he was also a returner. Regardless of which position Hurleman plays, he’s made major contributions to special teams. During his 2024 season with Notre Dame, Hurleman returned 23 punts for 138 yards. He was a four-phase special teamer. He made contributions in kickoff returns, kick coverage, punt returns, and punt coverage. Hurleman also amassed four special-teams tackles in 2024. He also returned punts and kicks when he played for Colgate University.
Hurleman believes that his ability to be a versatile player is his best quality. Speaking about his versatility, he remarked, “Helped me a ton. Just being able to have one guy wear multiple hats goes a long way in the league, there in the NFL. So I think being able to show that I could do all those different things went a long way. I was allowed to show that because some guys may have gone down during the minicamp, and, you know, lucky for me, I was able to do that stuff, and I think it is very important.” Hurleman is from Wyomissing, PA. He’s five-foot-eleven and weighs 200 pounds. Hurleman wants the Steelers to know that signing him was the right decision. The Fightin Phils, a minor-league baseball team based in Reading, honored Hurleman as a “hometown hero” during their June 19th game. He threw the first pitch. Hurleman spoke about signing with the Steelers and his outlook on the upcoming work he has to do. He said, “I'm super grateful. Not only to be signed to an NFL team, but to a really good organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers. I can't thank them enough, Coach Tomlin, Mr. Rooney, and Mr. Khan, for just affording me this opportunity. I'm gonna make them right in their decision.” Hurleman’s attitude shows that he’s grateful and ready to take on any challenges he may face as a rookie.
