The Pittsburgh Steelers are off on Thursday, but general manager Omar Khan and his scouting staff are still putting work in, as the club has arranged a tryout with free agent running back Aaron Shampklin, according to a report by Aaron Wilson of KRPC-TV Houston.
Shampklin is a 5-foot-10, 195-pound running back that originally came to the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard.
He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a UDFA in the spring of 2022, but he was waived with an injury settlement after a preseason ankle injury. He was later signed by the Indianapolis Colts to their practice squad and finished the season there without appearing in a regular season game.
Shampklin re-signed with the Colts for 2023, but was waived on May 2 and has been a free agent since.
In three preseason games with the Cowboys last season, he rushed 28 times for 106 yards and also had one reception.
Shampklin played three seasons at Harvard from 2017-21, with his most productive season coming in 2018 as a sophomore, when he rushed 172 times for 1,053 yards and nine touchdowns and caught eight passes for 133 yards and another score.
The Steelers have been playing without former Penn State running back John Lovett, who has missed practice since being injured on Aug. 2.
Shampklin would not be the first former Harvard athlete the Steelers signed this offseason. They had ex-Crimson wide receiver Cody Chrest with the team for OTAs and minicamp, but he was released prior to the start of training camp.
Three Harvard alumni were in the NFL as of the end of the 2022 season: tight ends Anthony Firsker and Cameron Brate and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. That last Crimson running back to make it to the league was Clifton Dawson in 2007.
More must-reads: