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Steelers second-round pick Pat Freiermuth is from Merrimac, Mass. and grew up a Patriots fan. He's also a tight end and wore No. 87 at Penn State, so the nickname "Baby Gronk" after Rob Gronkowski came naturally.
However, today at the first practice of rookie minicamp, Freiemuth revealed to the media that he hates the nickname "Baby Gronk."
“I hate it,” Freiermuth said. “I think it’s pretty annoying being called ‘Baby Gronk.’ I’m trying to get away from that nickname. So I don’t want to be called that.”
I can see why Freiermuth doesn't like the nickname, as he wants to build his own name in the NFL and Gronkowski is a future Hall of Famer. To have such a nickname might work well in college, but once you get to the NFL, there's a lot of pressure of having a nickname that refers to being the second coming of Gronkowski.