Cam Heyward was born to play for the Steelers.
At least that's what his mother wanted. She was a Pittsburgh girl who married the late, great Craig "Ironhead" Heyward of Pitt fame. She raised Cam in Atlanta, but always wanted to go back to Pittsburgh.
Cam made that possible when the Steelers drafted him out of Ohio State in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
The Son of Ironhead was greeted with much acclaim by the media and fans of the defending AFC champions, but the coaching staff sent Heyward to the back of the line behind Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, and even 2009 first-round pick Ziggy Hood.
Heyward didn't start a game in his first two seasons, and in his first six seasons accumulated only 25 sacks. He wasn't a bust by any stretch, but the style the Steelers played asked Heyward and the defensive ends to "two-gap," or hold offensive linemen up in order for linebackers to make plays.
That changed in 2017 when the Steelers moved to a more attacking style with their defensive linemen, and Heyward responded with 12 sacks. Then the awards began pouring in.
Over the last eight seasons, Heyward has been to all seven of his Pro Bowls, been named first-team All-Pro four times, and second-team All-Pro once.
Going into tonight's game against the Chargers, Heyward has 90 career sacks, second in team history to T.J. Watt's 113.
Heyward also enters tonight's game having played in 219 games with the Steelers. He'll match Mike Webster on the all-time franchise list by playing in his 220th game tonight, second behind Ben Roethlisberger's 249.
No, the Son of Ironhead hasn't done too badly for himself. When asked to formulate career recollections, though, the entirety of his 15 years in Pittsburgh seemed to overwhelm him.
"In the midst of everything," Heyward said, "I kind of just want to dedicate everything I have to the time I have left, whether it's one year, two years, or three years, I want to make sure I put everything I can into this.
"Just enjoying the ride. Not thinking about what the ride will be. I just try to stay in the moment."
Heyward agreed to play along with an old journalism staple of sticking with the who, what, where, when, and why. Here's how he responded:
WHO
Who pops into your mind as you look back at your career?
"Whether it's John Mitchell, to Karl Dunbar, to Brett Keisel, to Aaron Smith, to Casey Hampton, to Stephon Tuitt, to Javon Hargrave, I've been surrounded by some of the best coaches, players, and teammates you could ask for. And that's just in my room.
"I've always been a guy who learns from others. I try to add that to my game. And I don't want to let others down. I've always tried to wear every part of this team, or every part of every team I've been a part of, and understand the responsibility falls with me."
WHAT
What have you learned from somebody, anybody that's helped you grow?
"The first thing I've ever learned stemmed from my mom years ago. It's always been our mantra: Patience is a virtue. And I learned a lot of patience when I got to this league. John Mitchell, when I first got drafted, said to me, 'I've got my starters. You're going to have to wait and get on special teams.' That kind of was humbling. But I needed it, and I think it made me a better player because of that.
"Learning from Brett Keisel and Casey about how to play with technique; it doesn't matter if you just make the play, but being in the right gap, being accountable, is the true challenge.
"And learning from Coach Dunbar years later, because I had such a good foundation of being accountable and being in my gap, he kind of flipped it on its head and said, 'It's not just enough to be in your gap anymore. You know the scheme and you know what's going on around you, now you can take those risks a little bit more, now you can go out there and be a little bit freer.'
"When I've been around a lot of the younger guys in my crew, whether it was Javon Hargrave or Stephon Tuitt, there was just a level of competition I just appreciated. We were all so hungry and we all just wanted to be a part of a good defense.
"It's been really fun to lead with T.J. Watt over this time. We kind of push each other. We talk openly about game plans, about what we want to do. We talk about our families, talk about having kids. We've kind of grown up together. So that's what's really stood out to me."
WHERE
Where is your favorite spot?
"My home. It's been my safe place. It's been somewhere that in the quiet moments where I've focused the most, and I've cried the most because I wanted to be out there so bad. Sometimes I'd be in my car going to games and knowing you're not going to play kind of broke my heart, because I wanted to be a part of this for so long.
"Over my 15 years, I don't forget those moments. I still take the same route in. I had a lot of people at my house who really just settled me down and kept my faith going. My wife, my kids, my mom always coming up, my brothers; it's a spot where I can truly just be myself."
WHEN
Which time will you remember most fondly?
"There are so many moments. It's hard to say when. (Pause) I don't know. When is inconclusive because I'm going through When. I'm still trying to make those moments, so it's hard to say there's one moment that sticks out right now. I guess that goes with what I said about being in the present moment."
WHY
Do you feel like you've fulfilled your purpose? And why?
"I think God's purpose was to bring me back to Pittsburgh. It was marrying my wife, who I met my first year, my first day in the dorms at Ohio State. When I first got drafted here, I always thought that God and my dad were working together to bring me back home.
"But have I fulfilled my purpose? I hope not. I'm never content with that. I feel like I'm not satisfied. I feel there's still better ball to be played. There are still questions for me to be answered. I feel like I have a lot more in the tank to really just keep answering these questions."
OTHER VOICES
Spencer Anderson
"During practice, we obviously send our protection calls towards T.J., just because it's T.J., so it leaves me one-on-one with Cam, which is smart of our defense. You put them on separate sides, so you help one side and obviously there's no help on the other. So, whenever we're in practice and you're kind of sending protection that way, I'm like, 'All right, well, let me tighten my wrist rockets and buckle my stuff up, because here comes Cam.' Obviously it's good to go against guys like that in practice, because it makes the game so much easier.
"He's definitely a hard worker. I train with him in the offseason out here. I stay out here year round, so I train with him and a couple other guys, and he's just hard worker. Now, he's always joking around, but when it's time to be serious he's real serious. Obviously he's a captain for a reason, and he's been doing it for a while."
Connor Heyward
"It's very humbling that we're both at this level, but also extremely cool being able to see the side of him that no one else in our family really gets to see. They don't get to be here in the locker room. They don't get to see how he is when we win, or how he is when we lose. After a game he might be mad and they might not really know why, but I might know why he's mad and the reason. So I feel like being here and being able to get that insight has been so cool.
"Also, obviously, everybody would love to play with their brother, so it's a blessing as well. He's somebody that I can look up to and somebody that everybody else can look up to as well."
Keeanu Benton
"Playing with him is one thing, but what he teaches you is something extremely valuable. Yeah, he's a good guy and a great leader, a guy who's gonna speak up and teach you what he believes in. He taught me how to take care of my body when I first got here, and just continue to do those things and teach me how to do this job as a pro, for sure."
Aaron Rodgers
"Cam invited me to a movie night a while back and said it was a big team function. I love team bonding, chemistry stuff. So I show up. I see him and his son, Cal, who we got to know during training camp. I'm like, 'Oh, cool.' I'm looking around, I go, 'Where's everybody at?' I was the only one there. So then he texted me a couple nights ago. It said there was something on Monday night, and I said, 'Is this going to be like the last one?' No response from the group chat.
"But I really appreciate his leadership. You know, he's a guy who knows how to use his voice at the right times, and his play has been stellar. He's made some plays where he's hustling the back side of balls being out in the flat that are really impressive. He's pushed the pocket in the middle. He's got his hands on a lot of footballs that have been key, kind of game-changing plays for us. But he's a steady guy. I like to razz him from time to time, because I'm a little more maybe chipper in the mornings than he is, but I'm really fortunate to play with Cam Hayward."
Cam Heyward introduced before the Colts game (Photo: Barry Reeger, USA TODAY Sports)