From Clairton to PSU to the Steelers, Lamont Wade signs as undrafted free agent
May 2—When he played at Clairton, Lamont Wade had 26 scholarship offers before he chose Penn State and went on to play in 47 games, with 22 starts.
But it took only one phone call to give him, perhaps, the greatest thrill of all. Wade, a four-time letterman and three-time WPIAL champion at Clairton, signed with the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers in the moments after the draft ended Saturday evening.
With the body of a cornerback (5-foot-9, 187 pounds), Wade started all 22 games at safety for Penn State in 2019 and '20, never redshirted, was a two-time team captain and earned All-Big Ten honors in both seasons.
He joins a Steelers secondary that is in transition after the loss of Mike Hilton in free agency and the salary-related release of Steven Nelson.
Wade's size is almost identical to that of Hilton (5-9, 184), who served as the Steelers' slot/nickel cornerback from 2017-20 but signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in March. A good tackler for his size, Wade perhaps can strive to emulate Hilton, who became known for his tackling.
Showing a knack for finding the man with the ball, Wade totaled 153 career tackles, four forced fumbles, three recoveries, 6 1/2 TFLs, three sacks and an interception while playing at different spots in the Nittany Lions' secondary. Wade settled in mostly as a safety later in his college career.
Perhaps Wade's biggest moment occurred in the Michigan game in 2019 when he broke up a pass in the end zone in the final minutes of Penn State's 28-21 victory.
He also tied a Big Ten record with three forced fumbles at Ohio State.
Wade highlighted his senior season with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Illinois, the longest by a Penn State player in a Big Ten game.
At Clairton, he returned interceptions for touchdowns in three consecutive playoff games in 2016. Clairton was 51-5 in his four high school seasons. At the end of the season, he was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania and was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the state and No. 11 overall in 2017 by Rivals.com.
He also played baseball and basketball in high school and was the 2016 WPIAL long jump champion.
Wade was one of two safeties and eight players signed by the Steelers an undrafted free agents. Florida's Donovan Stiner was the other.
The Steelers also added two cornerbacks: Michigan State's Shakur Brown and Duke's Mark Gilbert. Gilbert lived in Pittsburgh until 2010 and is the nephew of Sean Gilbert and cousin of Darrelle Revis.
In addition, the team signed linebackers Calvin Bundage of Oklahoma State and Kentucky's Jamar Watson, wide receivers Rico Bussey Jr. of Hawaii and Kent State's Isaiah McKoy.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .
