Football is almost here. On Friday the Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the Detroit Lions in the first preseason game of the year. Obviously, as it is the first game of the year, we shouldn’t get our hopes up to see a lot of the stars of this team on the field. If you want to see starters, wait for that third preseason game when all the stars will be shining. But for now, it’s all about those bubble players working hard for a roster spot. Here are three to watch on Friday night.

Vince Williams, linebacker

I personally love the way inside linebacker Vince Williams has developed as a player since coming to the Steelers from Florida State. Pittsburgh let Sean Spence leave via free agency, leaving Williams as the primary backup to both Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons. But his eyes need to be on the real prize. A starting spot if Timmons leaves via free agency at the end of the season. I expect to see a heavy dose of Williams Friday night and his high-motor style is fun to watch.

Related Vince Williams hopes his play on the field will prove worth to Steelers

Landry Jones, quarterback

The Steelers got a taste of what the team would be like with Landry Jones in charge last season, and the results weren’t great. In his defense, Ben Roethlisberger casts a rather imposing shadow. But by all accounts, Jones is having a strong camp and wants badly to hold onto that backup quarterback spot. He spent the entirety of his first two NFL seasons practicing with the team and not dressing for games. Now that he has a taste of that, he’s going to do all he can to push Bruce Gradkowski for that primary backup spot.

Daryl Richardson, running back

We are only days away from finding out if the Steelers will be without running back Le’Veon Bell to start the season. With a looming four-game suspension, the depth of the running backs will be tested. The Steelers added Daryl Richardson to see if he can recapture some of the skills he had early in his career. He will get a long look to be the backup to DeAngelo Williams to start the season. But as all Steelers’ fans have discovered, injuries can truly test this team, and the team was successful because the players deep on the depth chart were called into major roles.