The Pittsburgh Steelers had several questions entering the season on offense. Specifically, who would step up on offense to be the definitive No. 2 receiver opposite of George Pickens. Well, Calvin Austin has certainly answered the call this year, and his emergence as a focal player in the offense has been a very nice surprise for the Steelers.

However, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wasn’t surprised at all. Speaking with the media on Wednesday, Smith revealed that he was hoping to draft Austin while he was the head coach of the Falcons, and that he was excited to work with him when he got the Steelers’ OC job.

“Well, I knew Calvin was tough,” Smith said. “He’s from Memphis. [I’m] a little partial to him. “I knew that coming out. Knew a lot of him being from Memphis and myself and my brother played in that program. [I’m] pretty close to that program. So we wanted to draft him when I was in Atlanta. And then obviously Pittsburgh took him. I was excited when I got here for the opportunity to work with him.”

This season, Austin has 28 catches for 452 yards and four touchdowns, as well as a punt return for a touchdown. He is on the short list of most improved players from a season ago, and that improvement has been a big plus for the Steelers’ offense.