Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Matt Corral of the Mississippi Rebels passes against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 2, 2021.
In need of a long-term answer at the quarterback position, the Pittsburgh Steelers are taking a long look at all of the top QB prospects available in the 2022 NFL Draft. To date, the Steelers have been most closely linked with Liberty University quarterback Malik Willis, so much so that head coach Mike Tomlin is said to “really want him.”
Conversely, the Steelers have not often been linked with Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, which could mean that the team’s decision makers aren’t that into him. Or they could be keeping their interest quiet, in hopes of being able to select him with their first-round pick.
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Matt Corral: Bret Michaels ‘Really Wants Me to Land in Pittsburgh’
One famous Steelers fan who would very much like to see the team draft Corral No. 20 overall is Poison frontman Bret Michaels. Last month, Michaels appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and spoke glowingly of Corral, who he described as his “buddy” and a “family friend.”
Michaels went on to describe Corral as a “team player” who has “an unbroken fighting spirit,” before concluding that “(Corral)’s got it, and someone out there—if it isn’t the Steelers—is going to be very lucky.”
Predictably, Eisen asked Corral about his connection to Michaels when the Ole Miss quarterback appeared on his show on April 5.
“I’ve talked to Bret throughout this process. He really wants me to land in Pittsburgh,” said Corral, noting that he has known Michaels for the past eight years, ever since he was a freshman in high school.
“Bret’s really pushing Mr. Rooney for them to pick me,” he added, referring to Steelers owner/team president Art Rooney II.
As to how the 59-year-old entertainer has the ear of the powers that be: “He used to live next to the GM—one of the owners of the Steelers, I don’t know who it was—that was his neighbor and they would always talk a lot. I know he brought my name up,” confirmed the 23-year-old QB, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, per Pro Football Reference.
Notably, Michaels has been on the Corral bandwagon for at least the past two years. In April 2020 he used Twitter to encourage football fans to keep an eye out for the Ole Miss product in a future NFL Draft.
I also suggest to keep an eye on a kid that is an insane quarterback in future drafts named Matt Corral from Ole Miss.🤘🏻🏈 #NFLDraft
Chris Simms: Matt Corral Is ‘Made for the Modern-Day NFL’
Two years later, Corral is widely regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects coming out this year.
For one, NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt—who recently got himself in hot water with his “disgraceful” comments about late Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins—has Corral rated as the No. 28 prospect in this draft, and the second-best quarterback, behind No. 25 ranked Malik Willis, who has drawn comparisons to former Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart.
Meanwhile, some NFL observers regard Corral as the single-best quarterback in the forthcoming draft. That includes former NFL quarterback turned NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, who regards Corral as an “insane athlete” who has the “quickest release” in this year’s quarterback class.
“It’s as quick a release as I’ve seen coming out of college football in a few years,” says Simms, who describes Corral’s arm strength as “phenomenal.” As if that weren’t enough, he says Corral is “the most accurate thrower in the draft, too.”
“He’s made for the modern-day NFL,” concluded Simms. In a little more than two weeks, we’ll know which NFL team feels the same way.
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