Sep 8, 2002 By Jim Wexell For The 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – He has charisma. No less an expert than Bill Cowher has said that about rookie Antwaan Randle El, and the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers has said so on more than one occasion this summer. So, mix that charisma with the consistency Randle El has brought to the practice field every day and a couple of scintillating runs in preseason games and – viola! – the ingredients are there for the most highly anticipated rookie debut this town has seen in at least 15 years.

“Are you serious?” Randle El asks with a typically charismatic contortion of his face. “Well, I’m just getting ready to play. The anticipation’s high here, too, because I’m ready to go.”

Randle El knows how to handle the media. Playing quarterback in a one-horse town for four years will do that to a player. And he obviously knows how to play to a crowd. Ask those who’ve packed The Big House or Beaver Stadium. But Randle El’s teammates don’t see anything phony about the excitement that’s building. In fact, they’re pretty excited, too.

“Fans are always looking for that new player to come in,” said flanker Hines Ward. “But as for us, we’re excited because we need him. It’s not like there are guys in front of him and we can groom him up. We need him to go out there from Week One to make a major impact.”

Randle El won’t start Monday night against the New England Patriots, but he will enter the game as the Steelers’ third wide receiver out of the slot. From there, he’ll be able to take short passes and turn them into touchdowns, as he did on an electrifying 29-yarder against the Detroit Lions. He’s also close enough to take a hand-off and turn it into a touchdown, as he did on a 32-yard reverse against the Washington Redskins.

The fans in Pittsburgh are excited about seeing this magic in the regular season. A rookie debut hasn’t been this anticipated since Rod Woodson came out of college in 1987. But even then, Woodson went through a month-long holdout.

“I hear people talking,” Randle El said. “But I just want to help us out. That’s the biggest thing. It don’t matter nothing what I done in preseason.”

Is he nervous?

“Nah,” he said. “I won’t be nervous. For what? It’s football. It ain’t nothing more. A little faster. Some more coverages. It’s football. They just hit harder. It’s football.”

The last time Randle El was nervous, he was a freshman at Indiana University and was being thrown to the Western Michigan wolves in the opener.

“And I tore it up,” he said. “Let’s see, 385 passing, 102 rushing, 6 touchdowns, 3 in the air, 3 on the ground. So I just don’t get nervous any more. If I don’t eat, that’s the only time I get nervous.”

Of course, Randle El realizes the significance of the opener, even though, technically, he’s not one of the players with revenge on his mind. But he was rooting for the Steelers late last January when the Patriots pulled off the upset in the AFC Championship Game.

“I wanted the Steelers to win and they got beat on special teams,” he said before explaining his rooting interest.

“I went to school in Indiana and the Bus was at Notre Dame,” he said of Jerome Bettis. “I was watching him as he was coming up. He’s the reason I always used the Steelers when I played video games.”

Randle El also appreciated the gadget plays offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey installed last year on a consistent basis. And now, Randle El has the potential to become Mularkey’s go-to guy in the gadget department. Besides, Cowher promised early in the week that “there will be some wrinkles from our standpoint.”

Wrinkles? The mind races directly to Randle El, who has yet to throw a pass during any Steelers practice.

“That stuff will come later,” he said. “It’s still early. Besides, New England ain’t falling for that. I mean, I was a quarterback for four years. If I come out and do it early, that would be silly. But some day down the road, it would be nice.”

Randle El, though, doesn’t have the luxury afforded most rookies. He doesn’t have time to think about what will happen down the road. He’s needed now. His teammates need him and the fans are clamoring.

El yeah, they’re saying. Bring him on.