Lockouts, Workouts and More with Matt Spaeth

Editor's note: , a sister website in Minnesota, sent us this story. They know how we bleed black and gold!

In Pittsburgh, the fans love that lunch-bucket player. It's no surprise, then, that No. 89, Matt Spaeth, has a bit of cult following in Steeler Country. 

Spaeth, a standout in two different sports, has built an NFL career on his goal-line blocking, special-teams play and dependability. 

A former John Mackey Award winner (best tight end in major-college football), Spaeth's role as a pass-catcher has diminished from his days at the University of Minnesota, but he's still an important piece of the Pittsburgh Steelers' puzzle.

Spaeth recently spoke at length with the St.Michael Patch about football and the unkown road ahead in the NFL with a league lockout in place.

St.Michael Patch: What are you up to this summer since you can't really work? And how hard has this been? 

Matt Spaeth: I've been working out a lot at the U (University of Minnesota) with some friends, including (Eric) Decker. We'll both be at Larry Fitzgerald's camp later this year. So we work hard to stay in shape. We hit a couple of (Minnesota) Twins games, just hang out.

SMP: Any word on the lockout?

MS: A lot of the key dates have passed, so it's up to the two sides to find something. We continue to think there will be a full season and that something will be done by the time training camp comes around. But there are guys taking out loans, looking for money. So you kind of worry that the players might start giving in, and that's not the best scenario. If you look at the NHL, you don't want that to happen.

SMP: When did you know, as an athlete, you could do this at a high level?

MS: I think my sophomore and junior year of college, I started to get it. I came into the U and they told me that I was going to be a defensive end. Coach (Glen) Mason redshirted me, and they worked me out in that position. I had never played that before, so that first year was really tough. It would have been easy to give in. I played linebacker in high school, so up front, I was kind of lost. I had other offers—including basketball—so I thought about that. But I stuck it out. We did classes, workouts and practices. A lot of days, it was up when it was still dark, and finish workouts when it's dark. But at that first practice for our bowl game, my first year, they moved me to tight end. That was hard, but the very first practice, I felt so much better. Like, I had found something. I was so at ease at tight end, so comfortable. And I had guys ahead of me like Ben (Utecht) and Scooter (Baugus), who said, "This is something you can do. You're going to be really good." I started nine of 12 games my freshman year (second year with the Gophers) and was a freshman All-American. Sophomore year, I was honorable-mention in (the) Big Ten (Conference), and it kind of took off from there. 

SMP: Who were the key factors in your Gophers (college) career?

MS: Well, Glen Mason was first. He was just a guy who took that program and built it up. I think the fans wanted us to take that next step, and it's a lot harder than it looks. We had that last game together—(Spaeth's senior year ended with a dramatic loss to Texas Tech University), and Mason was later fired—and I felt really bad for him. I worked a lot with (Bryan) Cuptio to get better, and he was a solid quarteback. I would bug him all the time to play catch/run routes.

SMP: What's your best memory as a Gopher?

MS: Finally beating (the University of) Michigan. We had been so close and lost some tough games. To beat them at their house and get the (Little Brown) Jug (rivalry trophy) was so great. We really felt we deserved it. And to get it (for the first time since 1986) was just awesome.

SMP: Look back a bit. What is something that Coach (Earl) Bauman did or said that stuck with you?

MS: He was just extremely insrumental in telling me who I was as a player. He rode me hard. I think, senior year, he did a great job of keeping Ryan (Zachman) and me deflated. He wouldn't let our egos get too big. And that was good. It grounded me. That lasted with me for a long time.

SMP: What made you pick football over basketball? (Spaeth holds several records on the hardwood.)

MS: Well, I liked basketball, but I'm 6-foot-7. When you look around, you realize, all of the sudden, that 6-7 is not that tall. The programs that had the big recruits weren't going after me all that hard. So it was football.

SMP: What's the best day to play football?

MS: (Immediate answer) Saturday. There's just so much fun surrounding a Saturday at college. High-school football, though ... there's nothing else like it. On a smaller scale, it's great. Pros, on Sunday, it's like a business. You've trained all week, and you know what your job is. And that's what you do, in the NFL on Sunday, is your job. I think, each year, the pros get less stressful. Every year, you learn the ropes a little bit more. Last season, I just had so much fun. I enjoyed it so much, because there was that comfort factor. Even the Super Bowl was different because we had done it. So I guess each day has great things. But, I grew up with my dad (Ken—a former University of Nebraska standout) as a huge fan. We had gone to Lincoln, NE, a few times, and there's nothing else like that. That's all they have, you know?

SMP: Which Steelers great, really, kind of gets the biggest reaction from you?

MS: I got to meet Mel Blount a few years ago, and he's just the coolest guy. He runs a ranch for youth, and he's had me out there. He has this cowboy hat, and we rode four-wheelers. We've actually become really good friends, so I really admire Mel. At 60-plus, he looks like he could still play. I've met a lot of the guys. I loved meeting (non-Steeler) Jerry Rice (through Fitzgerald's camps). Michael Irvin (another non-Steeler) is great, too.

SMP: Sum up Santonio Holmes' catch to win Super Bowl XLIII.

MS: It was the longest two minutes (the officials review) of my life, but when they called it good, there's just no other feeling like that.

SMP: What comes to mind when I mention Ben Roethlisberger?

MS: He's a great leader. The off-the-field stuff, it doesn't bother me, because those people don't know Ben. But on the field, he just has this toughness. That's what makes him one of the great fourth-quarter quarterbacks of all time. He's just business-like. He knows how to get it done.

SMP: How surprised were you that your head coach would be Mike Tomlin?

MS: I knew him a bit from Minnesota. It was wild. But he's just one of the smartest guys you'll ever meet. And he's so easy to relate to and talk to. I think the amazing thing is that Mike knows exactly what to say at the exact right time. That's why he wins.

SMP: What would you be doing if you weren't playing football?

MS: That's really hard to say until you're in that spot. Right now, football is what I do. I was a marketing major at the U through the Carlson School of Management, so maybe something in that area. Through the NFL, I've taken some classes through the Harvard Business School. I guess I won't know until it ends. That could be 2011; it could be 2016. You don't know, so you keep your options open. But that will all start another day.