Ryan Switzer Hired Personal Chef to Help Get in 'Best Shape' of His Career

PITTSBURGH -- It's no secret Twitter has taken attack on Ryan Switzer from time to time.

The fourth-year receiver enters his third season in Pittsburgh, and has some doubters making themselves known from the fanbase.

*whispers*

i’m excited to see Ryan Switzer’s role and development within this offense if his progress is legit

*ducks*
— matt (@yinzzzerr) August 19, 2020

But haters have never gotten the best of Switzer. The Steelers slot receiver has become a more intricate part of the offense each year he's been on the team, with 2020 looking to be the best yet.

"I'm excited to see what this year holds for me individually," Switzer said on Wednesday. "I'm really optimistic for myself, and hopefully it pans out that way."

Ignoring the doubt has become easy for the wideout. Switzer said there's always going to be negativity out there, it's just a matter of keeping your mind focused in the right direction.

"I'm blessed," Switzer said. "I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm comfortable with who I am as a person who I am as a player, what I've done with my career, what I think I'm going to do with my career. The only opinions I concern myself with are my employers, my wife, and my God.

"There's a lot of negativity, but if you live for someone's approval, you'll die for their criticisms. Good or bad, you can't listen to it. It comes with the territory, and you just got to push forward."

That criticism has taken somewhat of a backseat since camp started. The media voted Switzer as the camp's standout player for Wednesday's practice. He's shown up in noticeably better shape and is making plays in the team's first week of pads.

Switzer credits the chef he and his wife hired over the offseason for helping him take more control over what type and when he's putting food into his body. He came to training camp six pounds lighter than last season, quoting head coach Mike Tomlin for extra inspiration during his offseason work.

"Like coach Tomlin always says, especially because of the lack of the offseason, 'Physical conditioning proceeds anything that we do,'" Switzer said. "I feel as prepared as ever. I'm 25-years-old, in the best shape of my life, and now it's up to me to put it to use. All the training can go by the wayside if you don't go out there and perform. But I feel like I'm in a good spot between my physical conditioning, my diet, my experience, my growth as a receiver, to kind of mesh those together and really put together a good year for myself."

Now, in the midst of his third Steelers training camp, with plenty riding on the season, Switzer believes 2020 isn't the year he proves the doubters wrong, but the Steelers right.

"In my mind, there's no limit on what I believe I can bring to this offense," Switzer said. "I pushed myself really hard this offseason because I believe I can help this team win a championship. I got to prove [Roethlisberger] right. I got to prove a lot of people right. That's what I've been focused on. I haven't been focused on the people that I'm trying to prove. I'm trying to prove coach Tomlin and Mr. Colbert and Mr. Rooney; I'm trying to prove all the people that believe in my right."

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.