The team announced 10 signings shortly after the draft came to an end on Saturday. On Monday, they announced safety P.J. Locke has agreed to a contract as well.
Locke appeared in 47 games and made 31 starts for the University of Texas over the last four years. He had 77 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one interception and two forced fumbles. The interception came against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Locke is the second safety out of the Big 12 to sign with the Steelers since the draft. They also signed former West Virginia starter Dravon Askew-Henry.
@steelers
”Locke certainly appears to be one of the better free agents signed by the team this year and it won’t be surprising to learn that he received the biggest signing bonus of this year’s group. While he obviously still has a lot to prove during the remainder of the offseason, Locke probably has the easiest path to the Steelers initial 53-man roster this year when it comes to the group of undrafted and futures players signed so far by the team.
Played in 14 games with 13 starts … finished third on the team with 77 tackles (57 solo) … had 5.5 tackles for loss, one interception, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry … named honorable mention All-Big 12 … started in the defensive backfield against Maryland while totaling nine tackles (five solo) with one for loss … started at safety against Tulsa and made five solo tackles and had a forced fumble … had one solo tackle and a pass breakup in the win over USC … had seven tackles (five solo) to go along with a TFL and a QB hurry in the win over No. 17 TCU … had six tackles (five solo) in the Longhorns’ 19-14 road win over Kansas State … had six tackles (four solo) in the win over No. 7 Oklahoma … totaled six solo tackles, a TFL and a pass breakup in the 23-17 victory over Baylor … had six tackles (five solo) in the 38-35 loss to Oklahoma State … recorded seven tackles (five solo) and a forced fumble in the 42-41 loss to No. 12 West Virginia … had seven tackles (five solo) including 1.5 TFL and a half sack in the 41-34 road win over Texas Tech … had three tackles and a pass breakup in the 24-10 win over No. 18 Iowa State … had four tackles (three solo) including a TFL in the 24-17 road win over Kansas … had seven tackles in the Big 12 Championship Game against Oklahoma … had three tackles and an interception in UT’s 28-21 win over Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
JUNIOR (2017)
Selected as a team captain prior to the season … played in nine games and made eight starts … played in the first eight games of the season, making seven starts, before an injury forced him to miss the final four games of the regular season … returned to start at safety in the bowl game … totaled 39 tackles, two pass breakups, a QB hurry and a forced fumble … started and made three tackles and had one pass breakup in the season opener against Maryland … started in a 56-0 win against San Jose State, helping the Longhorns’ defense to a shutout of the Spartans … had three tackles (two solo) and a tackle for loss in a double-overtime loss at No. 4/4 USC … started at nickle back and totaled three solo tackles in the Longhorns’ 17-7 win to open Big 12 play at Iowa State … totaled four tackles (two solo) in UT’s 40-34 victory in double-overtime against Kansas State … had six tackles (three solo) in the AT&T Red River Showdown … started at nickle back against Oklahoma State … recorded a career-high eight tackles and a season-high seven solo tackles … helped hold the No. 10/11 Cowboys to season lows in passing yards and total yards … started and had five tackles (two solo) in the Longhorns’ 38-7 victory at Baylor … recorded 1.5 tackles for loss … returned from injury to start at safety in the 33-16 Texas Bowl win over Missouri … totaled seven tackles with a forced fumble, pass breakup and quarterback hurry … named preseason All-Big 12 by Athlon Sports in 2017.
@PjLocke4
Played in all 12 games and made nine starts at nickelback … starts came against Notre Dame, Cal, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas and TCU … recorded four tackles in the season-opener versus No. 10 Notre Dame including career-highs of one sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss… had six tackles, one for a loss of four yards, against UTEP …played against California with four total tackles … had one tackle against Oklahoma State … recorded four total tackles against OU (two solo, two assist) … had two solo tackles against Iowa State … had one solo tackle against Kansas State … recorded his first career interception and fumble recovery in a 35-34 win over previously-unbeaten No. 8 Baylor … had four total tackles against Texas Tech, two solo and two assists … also had one broken up pass … started against West Virginia and accumulated four tackles, three of them being solo … had one tackle for a loss of one yard … also had one interception … had two solo tackles against Kansas … also had three pass break-ups … totaled four solo tackles and a pass breakup against TCU.
FRESHMAN (2015)
Played in all 12 games on defense and special teams with one start against Baylor … recorded 14 tackles (10 solo), including one TFL, one PBU and one forced fumble … collected four tackles against Cal … had one tackle and one PBU at TCU … registered two solo tackles versus Kansas … made his first career start and posted season highs of seven tackles (five solo), one TFL and one forced fumble that led to a TD drive for a 17-0 lead at Baylor.
HIGH SCHOOL
Coached by Toby Foreman at Central High School … an all-state and two-time all-district honoree … a three-year starter who played safety, linebacker and cornerback … selected as a finalist for the 2014 Defensive Willie Ray Smith Award, honoring the top high school player in the Beaumont area … named first-team 5A All-State by the Texas Sports Writers Association and second-team by the Associated Press in 2014 … tabbed Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-District 22-5A … chose first-team Super Gold by the Beaumont Enterprise … ranked No. 25 safety nationally and No. 68 overall in Texas by 247Sports … ranked No. 36 safety nationally and No. 78 overall in Texas by ESPN … rated No. 46 safety nationally and No. 90 overall in Texas by Rivals … rated No. 77 CB nationally and No. 87 overall (No. 9 CB) in Texas by Scout … placed No. 34 on the Fab 55 by the Austin American-Statesman … ranked No. 6 safety in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … registered 62 tackles and seven interceptions, including one for a TD, and 10 pass breakups as a senior … part of a defense that allowed 22.1 points per game, including five games of 14 points or fewer … helped Central to an 8-4 record, including a 6-1 district mark, and an appearance in the 5A Division 1 bi-district playoffs in 2014 … named 2014 preseason second-team Super Team by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … selected first-team All-District 20-4A as linebacker in 2013 … missed four games due to injury … recorded three interceptions as a junior … part of a defense that allowed 22.0 points per game … helped Central to a 6-5 record, including a 5-2 district mark, and an appearance in the 4A Division 1 bi-district playoffs in 2013 … selected second-team Academic All-State in 2014.
Born in Beaumont, Texas … full name is James Abner Locke III … parents are Ramona and James A. Locke Jr. … father is a constable and played defensive back for Oklahoma State … mother is teacher and coach in the Beaumont school district who played point guard on the Lamar basketball team … a member of the AB honor roll all four years of high school … graduated magna cum laude from high school, maintaining a 3.85 GPA … ranked No. 21 in his high school graduating class of 375 … member of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Beaumont … likes to play video games and considers himself a gym rat … majoring in applied movement science.
CAREER HIGHS
All-purpose yards: 22, vs Georgia, Jan. 1, 2019
Interceptions: 1, vs Georgia, Jan. 1, 2019
Long interception return: 22, vs Georgia, Jan. 1, 2019
Tackles: 9, at Maryland, Sep 01, 2018 (5-4); vs Maryland, Sep 01, 2018 (5-4)
Sacks: .5, at Texas Tech, Nov 10, 2018 (0-1)
Tackles for loss: 1.5, at Texas Tech, Nov 10, 2018 (1-1)
Fumbles forced: 1 [t-5th], West Virginia, Nov 03, 2018 ; Tulsa, Sep 08, 2018
Pass breakups: 1, Iowa State, Nov 17, 2018 ; Baylor, Oct 13, 2018 ; USC, Sep 15, 2018
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- Position
- DB
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- Height
- 5-11
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- Hometown
- Beaumont, Texas
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- Weight
- 210
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- Class
- Senior
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- High School
- Central
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- Major
- Physical Culture and Sport
