Heat For Day Three

by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published July 26, 2025, 6:03 PM

Latrobe, Pa – It was insane hot. Not “summer breeze” hot real, full-on, seat-soaking, shirt-sticking, swamp-ass-inducing heat.

As I sit here typing this, my shirt is plastered to my back, my shorts are soaked through, and these Saint Vincent College chairs might need to be power-washed before anyone else dares sit on them.

But truth be told Mike Tomlin wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Had a really good day today,” Tomlin said after another blistering Steelers camp session. “I think the heat helped it. It was challenging in some instances, some self-inflicted wounds as fatigue set in, but that’s just part of the get-better process.”

Mission accomplished.

Though the apps read 85 degrees with a real-feel of 95, on the turf it felt well over 100. And Tomlin orchestrated every bead of sweat. Pushing practice back to the sunbaked hour of 1:55 p.m. wasn’t a coincidence.

It was strategy.

“It’s exactly what we were searching for,” Tomlin explained. “We think it aids development. It’s challenging, but you want challenging in an environment like this.”

Nobody knows the challenge better than 6-foot-7, 293-pound defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk, who looked like he’d just emerged from a sauna rather than a football field.

“Oh, everything just to get the weight back up,” said Loudermilk. “Day like today. I don’t know how much I lost, but we’ll see.”

He paused. “It’s weird. My body’s weird. Sometimes it could be up to like seven pounds. Today, maybe five or six.”

His record? “I’d say around eight or nine.”

And that’s just from one practice.

“Yeah, it just flies off,” he added. “But it takes about the rest of the day to get it back the water weight.”

That level of loss isn’t uncommon. In extreme heat, the human body can sweat out between 1-3 liters per hour roughly 2 to 6.5 pounds depending on body size and intensity. Add shoulder pads, helmet, and the relentless sun bouncing off turf, and it’s a wonder Loudermilk even walked off under his own power.

“You’re used to the heat,” he said. “But it’s a little different when you get here, for some reason. Rain yesterday, low humidity today. But no, it’s good. Takes a little bit longer to get back to normal hydration-wise. But I’d rather it be hot like this than cold.”

Hot. Sticky. Gritty. That’s camp exactly the way Tomlin wants it. And if this sweat-soaked afternoon was any indication, it’s clear the head coach doesn’t just preach toughness. He cooks it into the schedule.

And the rest of us? We just hope these chairs forgive us.

Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com