First off, can you let me know your next steps in your football career?
I’m deciding now on which Spring league to play for. The XFL or USFL or maybe the Canadian Football League. I’m working in sales and marketing while I wait to make the decision.
Of course I’d like to be in the NFL but it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. So now I’m seeing what happens with the CBA in the XFL and USFL – waiting to see how things unfold.
Your career started off in New York. Who helped mentor you across your professional career?
I tried to learn from every veteran I came cross. There was something to learn from everyone that helped me to become a better pro. With my position switch when I got to the NFL, I had a lot more to learn. So learning from everyone and working hard to learn the playbooks and situational aspects of football were important.
As for who helped me. Adrian Klemm and Tomlin of course. Bobby Johnson who’s with the Giants all helped.
You played for a number of teams over your career so far – over 10 in two different leagues. How do you maintain your sanity through all of that?
It comes with the responsibility. You never know where life will take you and you can only control what you can control. You try to remind yourself of that. Sometimes I was cut for what I couldn’t control and sometimes I was cut for what I could – like when I had my legal troubles in Pittsburgh. You just try to learn something from every experience. It all helped bring you some more resolve.
What drove you to Pittsburgh in the first place?
I just got a call from my agent saying they wanted to sign me. There wasn’t much behind the choice. I was thankful for the opportunity – that someone wanted to sign me after my time in the XFL and the gave me the chance to put more film out there.
You also had the chance to play with your brother Jamir who’s still there, right?
We were together there in 2020 until my legal issues resulted in me getting released. We went at it during mini-camp though – that was surreal. We both worked our life off to get to that level and we had only played together a couple of times in our lives before then. I only had the chance to play with my little brother when we played youth basketball and in my last year at Notre Dame when he was a Freshman.
You were one of three sets of brothers there – what was that like?
It was representative of the brotherhood across the team. All the brothers were close too – it just went to show how close the entire locker room was. It really was like a family there in many ways.
What stood out to you from your time in Pittsburgh?
The culture and brotherhood – Tomlin coached a top notch organization. We jumped through a lot of hurdles to get 12-0 – that said a lot. It was a tough end of the season but it was cool to see the attitude and mentality of the team through all of it.
I didn’t get to enjoy as much of the city as I wanted to due to Covid. I hiked a lot and walked around the city though – it was a relaxing city with great food. I got to see some Pens game – no Pirates game though.
Who helped you most on the team and how?
The whole offensive line room – Al, Pouncey, Dave – there were a bunch of moments where they were all just wiling to help and give me the information I needed. I wasn’t a complete offensive lineman when I got to the NFL – I was a noseguard in college so working with them helped speed the process up jumping into learning a new position. I had long arms so they saw my potential as a tackle. I worked with Al after practice – he was an offensive tackle and understood how to make that transition.
Any matchups in practice stand out?
TJ, Bus – they always had great outside linebackers. I was at a disadvantage as I was still learning a new position but those were good matchups.
How did the team address those legal concerns with you that resulted in your release?
The league was going to put me on the commissioner’s exempt list so the Steelers asked me to handle things while I was gone. They decided then not to being me back – they went in a different direction. I still feel that I didn’t do what they accused me of doing but teams have their brands and reputations. I understood completely their decision – their brand is bigger than me.
Circling back to that 12-0 start – how did the team stay focused during that run?
We had a ton of veteran leaders – including Ben at quarterback. That drove us – that leadership helped keep us focused and intact. Our mentality each week was to take it all seriously – we bought into the system early and that helped.
I spoke to others who said some of the biggest ways the offensive line stayed close had nothing to do with what happened on the field or in the locker room….
There was a lot of cohesiveness – a lot of dinners with the other linemen. A lot of the stuff we did off the field helped. We always did things with teammates – going out we always hung out with someone. I still have friends and connections on the team. That made us want to play for each other – we formed bonds that went beyond teammate. We held each other to the Steelers standard.
What was that standard – how did that manifest itself in your day-to-day work?
We held ourselves to a different standard based on the history of success of the team. We were consistent with our work – that helped me to try and stay at the top of my game as a person on and off the field.
More specifically, the team encouraged competition while taking care of the players. We worked on stuff that was more relevant to our play on Sundays. We held each other accountable and when things were going well we still critiqued one another to make sure we got better. We didn’t just celebrate wins – we were never good enough in our minds.
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