First, what have you been up to since your time with the Steelers?
Currently I’m an endodonist – a root canal specialist. I have practice here in Grand Rapids. I know it’s super fun – I’m sure people are shivering in their boots right now!
I’m married and have three kids – my oldest is five. So I’m in the thick of it now!
How did you choose the profession?
After the Steelers I went back to the drawing board. I was pre-dent at Hillsdale when I graduated but I chose then to chase my NFL dream. I believed I could play at that next level. But after the Steelers I went back to school to dental school in 2011 at Marquette. I tried to figure out how to pay for it – and at the same time I knew I had a yearning to serve in the Navy.
I ended up doing that – it was a win-win – the Navy paid for my school and I served as a general dentist for four years. My first year was in San Diego then I got married and served the last three in Memphis. I never was deployed or even on a ship during that time!
After that I begged my wife so that I could go back and become a specialist in rot canal therapy. Then we moved here to Grand Rapids.
Hard hard was the transition from playing to your post-playing life?
I did a lot of soul-searching. I wasn’t;t sure what to do at first. It’s hard to give up on the dream – one you had since you wee a kid. I did a lot of soul-searching on whether to give up on it or keep trying. I thought about going to Canada and playing there for three years then trying to make it back into the NFL.
But I had good people around me. Football was great but I realized there were other opportunities for me as well. I felt there were other things I could do.
You also coached a bit?
I coached at Hillsdale for a year – coached the linebackers and special teams units. We had a great season that year so it made me think about coaching for a bit.I was the team captain when I played, I payed for the Steelers and had a biology degree – I built a great resume I felt. It was hard to give up playing and go back into academics – but I felt that God just had other plans for me.
My wife will tell you it was the best decision I ever made, gulping to dental school. That’s where she and I met!
Anyone help mentor you most as a player and a coach? Any lessons stay with you?
When you play for so long you become somewhat of an expert. You think about what worked for you – much of that is anecdotal. But there’s nothing lies teaching others and giving those tools to other people. Teaching is so rewarding – it really is a humble profession. It doesn’t pay much but you’re basically molding young people’s lives. You teach them that there’s more to life than football.
Hillsdale was a small liberal; arts college – one of the smallest. I didn’t want to play there at first – I wanted to go to Grand Valley State – they had a terrific football program. But Coach Otterbein at Hillsdale was such an impressive person. He was humble and charismatic – he believed in molding young people more than winning. Teaching discipline and doing things the right way were the moat important thing to him – winning was a bonus after that. But if course if you do things the right way that’s when you win. I give a lot of credit to him.
Anyone else?
Coach Lindsley was the linebackers coach there at the time and he saw that I had the potential to play in the NFL He was one of the hardest coaches I ever played for. He never let up on me. If he felt I wasn’t giving it my all he’d sniff that out and go off on me.
I learned a lot from him was well. He talked to me about coaching and told me that coaching in college is no fore the faint of heart. It’s a lot of traveling, recruiting, coaching – it’s hard on people who want to be with their families. That was instrumental in me understanding whether I wanted to become a coach.
What brought you to the Steelers in 2009?
I had a good Division II career and did well in my pro days, I had seven or eight teams call me to be on their practice squads.
When my agent and I looked at the Steelers we saw that all of their veteran backups were up on there contracts – we thought that would be a good place to go and maybe beat one out. I’d be a cheaper option – maybe a good way to sneak on the team.
They śaw me a couple of times and offered me the most money. They seemed really interested in me. And being a part of the Steelers organization and Steelers Nation – that was such a great program to play for. We felt that if we were going to do this, let’s do it right!
However, they just won the Super Bowl and their special teams were amazing. All the backups linebackers were studs on special teams. The way they knew how to use their hands and take the right angles rot make plays. They were exceptional.
Did anyone help mentor you when you got there?
They did a great job of fostering an environment of mentorship and making sure all the rookies were skilled in dealing with things. The rookie days – we had media and financial classes. They set up a nice culture for us.
To win a Super Bowl, you have to have a good family culture. It’s natural with rookies coming in to try and take roster sports, for guys to be less willing to help. But the veterans had been around forever and were helpful. They were intimidating – but not in a bad way. They knew how to have fun too – they just expected you to bring your A game.
Coming from smaller school, what was the biggest adjustment for you?
The 3-4 defense was very new to me. Coming from a small school, we didn’t play that style of defense. I also didn’t play special teams in college. I didn’t make a single special teams tackle in preseason. You don’t make the team doing that.
I felt comfortable with the speed of the game. But the 3-4 – I was unfamiliar with guards getting free runs at linebackers. That wasn’t always the case, but in a 4-3 that doesn’t happen nearly as often.
What did the coaches say to you that helped you?
Coach Butler and Coach LeBeau were awesome. Tomlin too. They wanted you to succeed and took the time to show you how things worked.
I do remember when we had the month off – they wouldn’t let me take my playbook home to study it. They weren’t sure I’d make the team and didn’t want me to have a copy of the playbook!
But I had all the resources I needed there to succeed.
What stands out most to you of your time there in Pittsburgh – including the Batch interception?
My interception against the Redskins at Fede Field – my family got to see that. It was against Colt Brennan and gave us the chance to win the game. It was 95 degrees out – we could barely breathe out there. I think I set up the defense incorrectly too – but I made the interception and felt like it gave me a chance to make the team.
I also picked off Charlie Batch a couple of times in practice. I grew up a Lions fan and watch him play – he was my quarterback then. So that was surreal for me.
Any funny/other poignant memories stand out?
I remember being in the linebacker room for the first time for meetings. James Harrison and Coach Butler would go at it a lot for fun – they’d yell at each other and give it back to each other. I didn’t know that and in that first meeting Harrison started screaming at Butler and Butler started screaming back at him, the Harrison flipped over the table. Then everyone started laughing, I had no idea what was happening. I just saw this All-Pro super intimidating guy yelling at guy linebacker coach!
Troy Polamalu was also so much fan at practices. The coaches would set cones for drills and he would go and knock them all over. He always tried to keep things lighthearted – especially in those serious moments. He knew that if you played loose you played better.
One time we were in practice and it was a man-to-man setup. Troy was in there with the third-stringers and I was calling the play – the play call was man-to-man. Troy came up and told me to play zone on the slot tight end. I told him it was man but he said zone, so I said “Ok.”
Well, in the film room later on I got my ass chewed out. They saw me playing zone and told me I was supposed to be in man coverage. I didn’t want to blame anyone – but I told them Troy said to go zone. After that they said that Troy has great instincts – to just do what he says!
What do you think of now looking back on your experience there?
I just have great memories of being there. It’s the hardest job interview you’ll ever face – it’s so mentally and physically draining. You can’t not take away so many positives from that experience. In the end when you don’t make it you think you’ve failed. We’re type A competitors after all. But you pick up the pieces and know you’ve learned so much about yourself after that kind of experience.
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