Irish legend Chase Claypool makes NFL history

 

Former Notre Dame wide receiver Chase Claypool has had an incredible start to his pro career. The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie is the team's second leading receiver with 772 yards and 8 touchdowns. Claypool has some big goals for his career, but not just on the football field.

Claypool was Irish quarterback Ian Book's favorite target last season.

Now, the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie is already making history. He’s the first player in the super bowl era of the NFL to score 10 total touchdowns in his first 10 games.

Claypool says he has been fortunate to have two incredible quarterbacks to catch passes - Book and Ben Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger has made his transition from college to the pros a smooth one.

“You go from 5’11”-maybe 6 foot Ian Book to 6’4” Ben Roethlisberger, Hall of Famer. Obviously, no knock on Ian. I think he’s going to have a great career in the league, but you go in with someone who’s already had that career and I think it’s super cool because you can learn from him. Me and Ian, we were learning together. Every year we were learning new things about football, how to run routes, connection. Now Ben, he’s just able to tell me all these things. It definitely shortens the learning curve for sure,” Claypool said.

Claypool has big goals for his career

“I’d obviously like to make the Pro Bowl as many times as I can. Eventually, try to get into the Hall of Fame, like Ben’s about to be and I think the ultimate goal is just to win a Super Bowl. A Super Bowl, that’s been kind of a life long dream. As long as I can get one of those at some point in my career, that’d be awesome,” Claypool said.

Claypool is becoming a must-watch from Heinz Field to social media.

He has 1.1 million followers on TikTok and nearly 200,000 subscribers on YouTube.

“I think people put us on a pedestal and they think ‘Oh my God, Chase. Ahh’ and I don’t think it’s like that at all. I try to connect with people because I want them to know I’m just a normal dude who just happens to be good at a sport. And I want them not to be afraid to reach out to me,” Claypool said.

He has shared personal moments with his family on social media

“I think it shows the world how far I’ve come, you know, coming from not a whole lot at all to being able to do that for my parents. It’s the least I can do for my parents who’ve supported me my whole life. That was super important to me so I want to keep doing that for them. I want to relieve all of the financial stress for them,” Claypool said.

Whether he's connecting with fans-or Roethlisberger, you're sure to see a lot more from Claypool for many years to come.