How Alex Highsmith Found His Draft Night Hat
Alex Highsmith shocked Steelers Nation when he walked through his house on draft night with the most eye-catching hat of the night.
A fuzzy yellow and black Steelers hat with its own set of hair was the cap of choice for the third-round draft pick, representing his new team with some style after Roger Goodell announced his pick.
The virtual draft didn't allow players to head to Las Vegas to experience a hug with the commissioner, and it restricted the number of accessories the league sent to players who fell short of the first round. So, Highsmith and his father, Sam Highsmith, set out to find their own draft night memorabilia.
"I'm pretty sure usually, you get hats sent to you, but I think because of COVID, only the first 50 picks got that," Highsmith said on AllSteelers' Around The 412 podcast earlier this month. "So the first projected 50 picks got a bunch of hats sent to them. I didn't get any hats sent to us, so I just went on Facebook."
That Facebook hunt led him to collect every hat from the teams who scouted him. Sam posted on social media looking to collect as many hats as possible, which led to the surge in his son's headgear for his new team.
"Pretty much the teams that have talked to him at least a few times, I said, 'Hey, we need some hats.' In two days, I had all of them," Sam said. "There were a couple that were a little bit hard to find, and a lot of people said, 'I have a Steelers,' I said, 'No we already have that one.'"
Highsmith said his roommate in Charlotte was pushing for the Steelers to draft the linebacker and gave him the hat to use on draft night.
It would become one of the most famous moments of the 2020 NFL Draft. After the Steelers selected Highsmith with the 102nd overall pick, he tossed on the black visor with the yellow hair and electrified Pittsburgh fans.
"It was unique," Sam said. "Obviously [we were] a little disappointed not having the hats, but this whole draft and whole process was so different, that's what makes it so memorable. Having to find those hats were fun."
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
