LATROBE, Pa. -- Ask around about which young Pittsburgh Steelers player looked good in the preseason opener and one answer is pretty common around Saint Vincent College.

Seventy-nine.

That's rookie defensive tackle Javon Hargrave's jersey number.

And the third-round pick will play right away. Book it.

Coach Mike Tomlin doesn't do empty praise, so this quote about Hargrave's camp is telling:

"His pedigree routinely flashes. He's a talented guy, yes."

Worst case, Hargrave provides valuable depth to a defensive line that needs it.

Best case, Hargrave is a long-term answer up front.

Though it's far too early to tell on that last part, what's clear is that Hargrave's first step translates to the NFL. He's got a stout lower body that helps him explode off the line.

Third-year nose tackle Daniel McCullers has the inside track on the starting nose-tackle job, but with the Steelers playing several different sets -- mixing in some 4-3 formations -- they can creatively use Hargrave and tackle Ricardo Mathews, who started camp slow but made some plays late.

Hargrave said the Steelers have used him as a three-technique tackle (off the guard, in a tilt stance) and at nose tackle.

Hargrave, who goes by the nickname "Grave Digger" -- given to him by a coach at South Carolina State because of his violent sacks -- said he found his burst as a running back in youth football.

"That's something I've always had," Hargrave said. "On the line, it shows more."
Showing, indeed.

With first-round corner Artie Burns slowed by a quad injury and second-round safety Sean Davis squeezed into nickel-corner duties because of injury, Hargrave could make the most immediate impact among Steelers rookies.