LATROBE Ben Roethlisberger choked up. Mike Tomlin found perspective. Chris Rainey marveled at the display of cheating death.

To Kirby Wilson, it was just a jog. To the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was, to use Tomlins word, a blessing.

Wilson, Pittsburghs running backs coach, was on the field barking at his players and even running with them from drill to drill on the first official practice day of Steelers training camp at St. Vincent College.

Less than seven months after sustaining life-threatening burns over almost half of his body in a house fire, Wilson is doing what he wants to do.

Its awesome, Wilson said. My favorite time of the year. The most rewarding camp Ive had.

Beloved by his players, Wilsons services are arguably needed more than usual for Pittsburgh this season. With starter Rashard Mendenhall recovering from knee surgery, the Steelers have a young, deep and talented running back corps for Wilson to work with and sort through. When asked about the competition for roster spots and increased roles at running back, Wilson used a pun that might have been in poor taste only a few months ago.

Its heated, Wilson said. Thats the only way I can describe it.

You have one guy on (the physically-unable-to-perform list) in Rashard (Mendenhall), and after that, (new starter) Isaac Redman and a bunch of young guys who really have a lot of ability but really havent done it over the long haul and are trying to find their niche.

Mendenhall is recovering from surgery after he tore the ACL in his right knee during the regular-season finale in January. Redman takes over as the featured back in the Todd Haleys offense, but roles for Jonathan Dwyer, John Clay, Baron Batch and rookie Chris Rainey are still largely a mystery.

Dwyer, in his third year, and Clay, in his second, were high-profile college backs at big-time programs but went undrafted and have scant NFL experience. Batch was briefly the darling of last seasons camp as a rookie until he tore an ACL, and Rainey, the speedster of the bunch, was drafted in the fifth round out of Florida.

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Wilson back coaching for Steelers