First, can you let me know how you got into coaching since your playing days?
Well, I stopped playing in 2016 after the Chiefs cut me. I moved to Atlanta and opened up a gym. I was running that business – I never thought I’d become a coach when I was a player. But I had that itch to get back to the game in some fashion. Some of my coaches said I’d be a great coach.
I reached out to some of the coaches that impacted me when I played to pick their brains. My wide receivers coach at Connecticut was a high school head coach – Matt Cersosimo. He told me that if I wanted to figure it out, to come to Connecticut and coach his wide receivers. My girlfriend lived in Connecticut so it worked out well. I closed out the club and moved to Connecticut where he took me under his wing at the high school level.
What about it attracted you when you started?
I loved being able to impact young kids. I wanted to do more of it after that year. After that season I interviewed and got a job coaching at Wesleyan University – Bill Belichick’s former university. But we didn’t have the season due to Covid. I wanted to continue to coach – I got a job next as the running backs coach at Cornell. There was a great group of staff and athletes there.
After that I got the call to coach wide receivers here at Albany, then Connecticut, and that’s where I’m at now.
What lessons did some of those other coaches impart on you that stuck with you?
My coach in college – Randy Edsell – he was a big influence. Really all the coaches – I’m the culmination of all of those guys’ teachings. Their philosophies and teachings.
In the NFL, my biggest impactful coach was Coach Tomlin. There I was scratching and clawing to make the roster. I watched him – there was a method to his madness. You could see why he is a future Hall of Fame coach. There’s a reason he’s so successful. He fosters a certain type of action and physicality to the game. The way he approaches things – there really is a standard for everything. How meetings are run. How you conduct yourself and approach practice and game days.
When we played the Giants in preseason I was starting on the kickoff return unit. I remember getting the kickoff but there was no lane to run through, As a Jersey kid I pride myself on any toughness and grittiness. I stuck my feet in the ground and put my shoulder down and ran into the pile. I’m an undersized guy.
When I got off the field Coach Tomlin praised me for that – for my toughness and will. He said we are all capable but it’s though your will that you succeed. I think he respected any toughness and my fearlessness.
How did you land on the Steelers as an undrafted feee agent?
I was in the 2012 draft class and went undrafted. Pittsburgh actually offered me a priority free agent contract but I unfortunately signed with the Bengals instead. I finished my rookie year in San Diego and they offered me a contract to stay, but my agent said I had an offer to go to Pittsburgh as well so we went there instead.
From day one I felt how family-oriented the team was. From top to bottom – from the cooks to the equipment guys. I was with a lot of organizations and Pittsburgh is at the top of the list.
Did anyone help take you under their wing in Pittsburgh – how so?
Jerricho Cotchery – he had such strong faith and was a great leader. He showed me the ropes. He was great for the wide receivers and the team in general. Being around him, Ike, Ben, Troy, Ryan … just a lot of greatness there. Watching them – how they prepared and treated practice reps like game reps. Also, how they incorporated family life with football. The day before games I saw Troy with his kids – AB had his kids in the meeting room. That culture had a great impact on me.
Any good matchups you remember being on the practice squad?
Ryan would lay anybody out on game days but he never did that in practice – at least not to me! They all understood on defense that in practice the preparation was more important than the physicality. But there were some good battles. Going up against Shamarko Thomas and Will Allen as the Z and slot receiver was fun. And seeing a young, hungry AB going up against a savvy veteran like Ike Taylor – I learned a lot watching that.
Any fun memories stand out?
The rookie dinner – Markus Wheaton and John Brown had to take us out and host us. That was fun – a lot of extra steaks and bottles of wine for us! I think the bill came out to $10,000! I guess it wasn’t as great for them as it was for us!
And Friday Night Lights. In the NFL you’re so far removed from what it felt like playing high school games on Fridays. That was the best time of camp for me – being able to show the fans how we did our business. It was like being back in high school – with thousands of fans there.
Remember your first game as a Steeler?
Running out of the tunnel and seeing a crowd of fans waving towels – there’s nothing like that, yeah. They are the best fans. When we went to London to play the Vikings – I was astounded at the support we had there.
What made you stick on the roster?
I think that one play I described earlier against the Giants – the kickoff return. That showed my toughness. My willingness to out my head in the pile and contribute – Tomlin said he appreciated that.
What happened after that?
When I was cut Tomlin said he appreciated the way I worked and that I should reach out if I ever needed anything. I’d love to go back and watch them during OTAs – they let guys come back and do that. They are very welcoming.
It’s funny, when I was at Cornell I coached against Columbia and Coach Tomlin’s son. I told him that I remembered seeing him as a kid running around in camp. But he was a tough player. I let him know how good he played. He has that Steelers way – that toughness that you can see Coach Tomlin instilled in him.
What do you think of the way the game has changed since you played?
The game keeps evolving. More passing means more excitement. I guess that’s why you see wide receivers getting paid so much more! You can’t forget the run game though. Seeing a hungry rookie in Le’Veon Bell – he was like an alien. He was big and could line up like a wide receiver – he had all that athletic ability.
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