Exclusive with James Everett aka RouteGod

First, let me know how you got involved in training NFL player like Cam Sutton and Diontae Johnson?

It started off with training myself. I wanted to be better and looked at how others were doing it. I used my phone to video myself and others – watched how they were doing it and built my training that way. Other guys saw how I was doing it and asked to work with me. I said “Sure, come on. Let’s do it!”

Someone gave me the idea – they told me I gained a lot of knowledge and people were getting a lot out of what I was doing. They thought I should try to make it a career – to take it to the next level.

At first it was just a way to make some extra income. Then it moved to more of a business. I kept learning new things. It’s different learning as you play – in the game you can’t see things like when you watch film and have someone show you what you are doing and break down film with you. Then you see a lot more. It’s a dream now to work with these guys – something I didn’t expect.

What makes you different from other guys who do this?

I think – not to throw shade on others – but the difference is in the way I communicate so guys really understand what I’m saying to them. I can find something in you – just taking the training out of it – so we can really connect. There are only a few different ways to run drills. It’s all about getting the best out of you – to bring out the best in you. I’m able to help guys understand how to better their game. At this level everyone has game. But to help guys get a better release and to use their hips better… it’s all about helping you get more game.

Have you had to adjust as the game has changed over the years? How so?

Definitely. I look at it like math. Growing up I wasn’t good at math. But math never changes. It gets to different levels but doesn’t change.  In tenth grade I had a teacher who really helped me break down math.  Who worked with me. That helped me to be good at math.

Football is the same way. The rules change but the game is the same. So I have to help guys adjust to the rules. The biggest change is that the brute force and grittiness of the game has changed – it’s now a more finesse game. The old heads hate it – no more guys like Mean Joe and Earl Campbell. Now it’s about no huddle and scoring touchdowns. Back then a 9-3 game was a great game but they don’t like games like that today.

So I have to teach around the way the rules change. There are a million ways to get open now as a receiver. As a defensive back you have to react to receivers first. The Jerry Rice’s and other Hall of Fame receivers back then – they are different than today’s guys. There was no one like Odell or DeVante or Stefan then. The smoothness of today’s guys – without the physicality those guys can do today what you couldn’t then.

How specifically have you changed your approach because of that?

It’s about fluency. You can see where guys are stiff – if they have bad feet.  Bad hands…. Some guys are natural ability to run routes – but either way the best guys are just smooth. They make it look effortless.

How do you teach that?

Through hella repetition! I do this every day and I still have to work on it.  It’s all about repetition in whatever drill I lay down. And I approach it one of two ways. Drills for real life – for something specific we want to put into a game. Then another for specific movement. That might not look like it has anything to do with the game, but it’s about getting their body used to a specific type of movement they meed to become more smooth in what they do.

In looking at how players are evaluated – especially at the combine, what are scouts and coaches missing?

I feel like they are missing the real-life scenarios. In drills the 40 times don’t mean much if you can’t catch the ball or are slow out of a release.

The combine doesn’t measure fluency well. If you can’t play well against air…. I mean, well, that doesn’t measure much. I do like that they added the fade drill – they can see how you attack the high point in the end zone. That shows some athleticism. They need more of that kind of stuff.

In looking at the guys you work with like Ray-Ray, Cam Sutton, Diontae…what does Pittsburgh do that may be different than some other teams insofar as player usage?

On the outside looking in, I like the way they use guys the way they need to be used.  Guys like Ray-Ray – they use them according to how they play best.

They don’t force players to play in schemes that don’t fit them. They put guys in on plays that suit them best. Not all teams do that. A lot of teams want to get the most out of their investments so put guys in every play even if it’s not best for them. But Pittsburgh really does play guys depending on the play and scheme.

Take Ray-Ray. I don’t think the Bills were using him best for the way he plays. You have to find the right fit sometimes.

On defense it’s the same thing. I love how they move Cam around. He’s so smooth. I feel like he can become the starter this year.

Any thoughts about what make Cam, Ray-Ray and Diontae so good?

Working with those guys is amazing. Cam is such a smooth defensive back. But not a lot of people know he has an offensive background.  He gets some of that fluidity  from that. He can see what receivers are doing and can read their movements.

Ray-Ray and Diontae – it’s a Florida thing for us. It’s in the water here. We played football from the time we could talk. Everything we do, we strive for perfection. Nothing is taken in stride – we have to be perfect in our training because if we let things go there then we might let it go during a game too. So we have to try and be perfect at all times.

Ray-Ray – he has a crazy dead leg. He can fake people out before they can react. Diontae – he has a crazy twitch and quickness. He can make a move and make another move before the defensive player can stop reacting to that first move.

Both explode in and out of routes – that’s more important than a fast 40 time.

One thing I’d say. I just wish they played Deon Cain more. I thought he could do more before Baltimore picked him off the practice squad. I guess they had more invested with the other guys by then.

Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.  To order, just click on the book: