Summers feels like a perfect fit with defending champs

By Ryan Greene

Monday, April 27, 2009 | 2:15 a.m.

Two weeks ago, while in Pittsburgh, it felt like 2004 all over again for Frank Summers.

The former UNLV running back was on a visit to check out the Pittsburgh Steelers' facilities, meet the coaches, shake hands with the higher-ups, see the six Vince Lombardi trophies, all that jazz.

He felt like a prep prospect being given the recruiting sales pitch.

"When I left there, I was telling everyone I wished I could have committed like I was in college," he said. "I don't think I could have a better fit with a great organization."

No need to pick the Steelers. On Sunday's second day of the annual NFL Draft, the defending Super Bowl champions picked him.

The Steelers used one of their fifth-round slots -- the 169th overall pick, to be exact -- to take the burly Oakland native.

"It's a dream come true," Summers said over the phone not long after being picked. "I've always thought about it, but now that it's here, I'm still trying to let it sink in."

Summers spoke while plenty of people audibly celebrated in the background, as he watched the draft from his aunt's house in the Bay Area, where his journey to this point began.

After starring at Skyline High, he was recruited to nearby California-Berkeley. Buried on the depth chart there, he transferred to Laney College, and found his fresh start in Division-I ball as a Rebel.

In two seasons in coach Mike Sanford's spread offense, Summers totaled 1,668 yards on the ground, racked up 402 more on 36 receptions and scored 20 total touchdowns.

Those numbers, though, weren't all that caught the Steelers' attention. Summers' showing at both the Texas vs. The Nation all-star game in January and at UNLV's Pro Day last month ultimately won them over.

At Pro Day -- where the Steelers sent two scouts and running backs coach Kirby Wilson -- he showed off a 34.5-inch vertical leap, a 4.55 time in the 40-yard dash and put up an eye-popping 30 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press.

The all-expenses-paid visit to western Pennsylvania showed their interest was for real.

When the time came on Sunday, the defending champs ultimately pulled the trigger.

"They called me while Arizona was still on the clock (at pick No. 167), so I had a good feeling that might be my time," he said.

And over the next hour, his cell phone would suffer a logjam, as more than 100 text messages quickly accumulated.

With three minutes on the clock in between picks at that point, the Steelers used almost the entire amount of allotted time to take Central Florida cornerback Joe Burnett. However, less than 30 seconds later, their second pick was in, and Summers' name popped up at the bottom of the screen on ESPN.

He was the 10th running back taken in the seven-round draft, and became UNLV's first running back taken in the NFL Draft since the Bengals took Ickey Woods 31st overall in 1988.

The fit is a good one for both sides.

At 5-foot-9 and more than 230 pounds, Summers can fit plenty of roles for the Steelers.

He can block, catch the ball out of the backfield, hammer ahead and move the chains on short-yardage situations and, maybe most important early in his career, is excellent on special teams.

It's assumed that Summers will get a shot to see the field early on for Pittsburgh, as it recently released Gary Russell, who served as the team's short-yardage specialist last season.

On the offensive depth chart he'll be working with a healthy stable of backs, including established star Willie Parker, solid veteran Mewelde Moore and last year's first-round pick, Rashard Mendenhall, who missed much of the 2008 season with a shoulder injury.

Summers already knows, too, that he fits exactly what the Steelers stand for, which should give him an edge going in.

"I think I'm a physical type of person, which is what they want there, and I'm a winner, inside and out," he said. "With those two things in common, that's as good as it can get."

Summers' next step will be a trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday for the team's mini-camp. After that comes a brief break before training camp in July in Latrobe, Pa.

There, the Steelers will begin a quest to win their third Super Bowl title in five years, which Summers knows will make his initiation into life in the NFL a unique one.

That's what he said will be the best part of being a member of the Pittsburgh organization.

"They're just coming off of a Super Bowl win," he said. "Only one team in the NFL can say that."