RUSSELL WILSON | PHOTO BY TAYLOR OLLASON/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

They’ll show up today at Saint Vincent College as they annually do and say what they seemingly always say and yet another Steelers training camp will be off and running.

It’s a tradition unlike any other.

Some will express optimism and enthusiasm and say very little of significance while doing so. One or two might even mention the Super Bowl. Cam Heyward, perhaps, will campaign for a contract extension. If Najee Harris speaks to the media it’ll be the first time he’s done so since last season, which would constitute news of some significance under the circumstances.

Other than that, it’ll be business as usual.

Eventually, they’ll hit the practice field.

Eventually, they’ll put the pads on.

Eventually, they’ll play games that don’t count.

And we won’t be able to get enough while all of that is playing out.

What’s destined to be forgotten in September will be confused with breaking news in August.

No detail will be perceived as too small when it comes to feeding that beast.

Matchups between cornerbacks and receivers will be dissected. A running score will be kept on how many reps are won by the offense and by the defense during “Seven Shots,” the team’s signature, practice-opening, two-point conversion/short-yardage exercise. Two-minute drills will be charted (did the offense gain the necessary yards in the required time? If not, how was the defense able to avoid giving up a field goal or a touchdown with an imaginary game at stake?). The new punter’s hang time will be monitored. Offensive line combinations and defensive sub-packages will be chronicled regarding who is playing and when. We’ll keep track of how many times they’re deploying multiple tight ends. And “Backs-on-’Backers,” a pass-rush/pass-protection staple, will be celebrated if for nothing else than the violence it inspires.

Who’s a sleeper?

Who’s a bust?

Buckle up, baby, the avalanche of analysis is coming.

None of it mattered much last season, when the Kenny Pickett-led first-team offense was perfect in the preseason and perfectly awful thereafter.

If there were any reports last August suggesting the third-string quarterback would have to come in and save the day over the final three regular-season games, I missed those.

Even Mason Rudolph wasn’t anticipating that.

And yet here we go again.

It’ll matter to the media because what we’re about to receive will be that much closer to actual football.

It’ll matter to the fans, who will consume the interpretations, projections and analysis with an appetite that can’t be satisfied and with a thirst that can’t be quenched, especially those who will make the pilgrimage to Saint Vincent and crowd the hillsides surrounding the practice field.

It’ll matter to the coaches, who presumably still have a few important decisions to make regarding the rotations and the roster.

And it’ll matter to the players.

Especially quarterback Russell Wilson, who maintained that he approached a two-minute drill during an Organized Team Activity in June as if a Super Bowl was about to be decided because such an approach is nothing less than a critical part of the process.

“Two-minute is everything,” Wilson insisted. “That’s where you win the games. You gotta love the game when it’s tight, when it’s on the line, fourth quarter.

“You gotta love those fourth-quarter moments, look forward to ’em. You gotta believe that you’re gonna win ’em every time because of the confidence that you do in June, because of the confidence you instill in August. In those moments you’re visualizing success and you’re always thinking about winning. You’re always thinking about winning each play, each down, each moment and just knowing if there’s time on the clock we’ve got a chance.

“That’s what I’ve always believed internally. You can’t fear the fourth quarter. You gotta love those moments and not fear them.”

Yes, we’re talking about practice.

Not the game, practice.

But eventually we’ll be talking about Atlanta.

And about the opening of a season that’ll be that much easier to anticipate with each passing day in Latrobe.

Mike Prisuta is the sports anchor/reporter for Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show. He’s also the host of the Steelers Radio Network Pregame Show and the color analyst for Robert Morris University men’s hockey broadcasts.