Story re-printed from the www.pittsburghpost-gazette.com
LATROBE -- The big guys have a thing for the little cars.
Last year, outside linebacker James Harrison arrived at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp driving a white SmartCar and took coach Mike Tomlin for a ride. This year, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his offensive line rolled up to the dorm in MINI Coopers.
Harrison drove a black Lincoln sedan Friday, but cars were in the minority. Most players arrived in large sport utility vehicles with tinted windows. Defensive lineman Chris Hoke drove a gray Mercedes, and inside linebackers James Farrior and Larry Foote both arrived in SUVs.
One of the few cars to rookie wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, a third-round draft pick from Southern Methodist. Sanders drove a white Mercedes CLS 550, which he called his dream car. He has had it three months.
"I said when I make it that's the car I was going to get and I got the opportunity to get it, so I got it," he said.
Wide receiver Stefan Logan drove a black Dodge Charger with gray stripes.
"I have a nice thing with cars," he said. "I like cars, toys, stuff like that. I left my truck back in Pittsburgh and brought my car up here."
Logan has had the Charger for about six months and got it because he wanted a change from his truck.
"I wanted something to drive every day and I don't normally drive my truck all the time," he said. "I normally just put it in the garage. I liked the Charger, I thought it was a nice car. If you get one, you got to make sure you get one with a Hemi [engine] in it."
Sanders and Logan both began a new experience Friday. Sanders is in his first NFL training camp but spent the last month in Pittsburgh preparing for it. He ran routes and caught passes from Roethlisberger and quarterback Charlie Batch and also studied the playbook.
"I saw it as an advantage. I had the film room, I had the coaches, I had the athletic training," he said. "I had [conditioning coordinator Garrett Giemont], who's been training guys going on 27 years. That's kind of the reason why I did it."
Logan spent most of last season, his rookie year, as a kick-returner and special-teams player. This year, he said, he is preparing to see more time as a running back and wide receiver.
"You got to keep your thoughts and plays in mind when you're a receiver as far as what you've got to do, reading defenses," he said regarding the philosophy change needed to play receiver.
"Coach Tomlin, he just wants to see how much I can handle. I'm willing to take on that challenge and show what I can do."
And with that he entered the dorm, along with the other players leaving their dark Tahoes and Yukons parked on the curb.
Logan also has a Tahoe, but said his is the best on the team.
"It's all white, got 26 [inch rims] on it. It's what I call the cocaine white, it's ready to go. Coming from Miami that's how we do it," the south Florida native joked.
Sanders likes his teammates' wheels, but keeps them in perspective.
"I'll take everybody on my team's car," he said. "Everybody has a nice car. But a car's just a car at the same time."
Unless it's your dream car.
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