First off, can you tell me about the work you’re doing now for high school recruits?
I started up a new program to help kids with recruiting. After I stopped playing I got into coaching and that was sticky for me. I enjoyed it – but I couldn’t help kids like I wanted to to get into schools and continue to play. So I used the network I built up of coaches – from high school to the NFL – to help advocate for kids. It’s hard to get recruited if there’s no one in your corner.
When you have someone outside of your inner circle – not a parent or coach – who can help you and give you a different point of view, who can help you train and give you the good and the bad – that really helps. I was a highly recruited player out of high school and I loved the recruiting process. I learned a lot from it and think I can help kids. A lot of kids go under-recruited – maybe they are from smaller schools or just don’t have anyone to advocate for them. I’m consistently cycling through film and making calls to get kids into schools.
Do you work with the high school coaches?
I do, but for example, this past Summer I took a few kids to Texas A&M to visit with the coaches. It was an exclusive visit to help the coaches see these kids and see if they passed the eyeball test.
I know it sounds crazy, but high school coaches don’t get paid to help kids get recruited. They usually don’t have a lot of time or the budgets, and when they do, it’s for a selective group of kids. I believe every kid who played high school football can find a school for them if they are willing to work and find it.
Who helped shape the way you approach your work now?
Coach Jimbo Fisher – I like the way he attacked the recruiting process. Coach Monte Kiffin too – he recruited me to go to USC. He was all about having me learn about them as people – not about the school first. He wanted me to know the environment and what the people were like first.
I’m a glass house for the parents and the kids I work with. I made my mistakes – it’s important for them to know who I am as a person. I was suspended and reinstated by the NFL. I didn’t want to run away from my mistakes. I did some knuckleheaded things that caused my stay to be shorter than it could have been in the NFL. So I learned from that and can be the voice of reason to these kids.
Most parents haven’t played football at the college and NFL level. They don’t understand the pressure. I’ve been there and can understand what they will go through.
When you were drafted by Buffalo and first got there, did anyone take you under their wing then and show you the ropes?
No. I felt at the time that I missed that. I had teammates that were in make-or-break moments in their careers in Buffalo – EJ Manuel, Nigel Bradham, Ronald Darby… they didn’t have that time to help. It’s not a slice on the organization – just no one took on that role. No one got together with the young players every week to see how they were doing and to show them how they did things.
At Florida State we had that so it was different for me. We were a brotherhood – we picked each other up if we saw someone was struggling.
What brought you to the Steelers and how big of an influence was your brother in signing there?
Vince was a major reason to sign with Pittsburgh. It was easy to be convinced it was the best place for me. I got in the best shape of my life there and it was a more accountable environment. Tomlin ran a tight ship – as he said, he wanted wiling participants, not hostages. If you weren’t doing your job – if you weren’t coming in on time and doing your reps, he’d take your helmet. In Buffalo the vets were taking off workout reps and coming in late by week 12. It was a total 180 degree change in Pittsburgh. Buffalo ended up doing a great job turning things around under Coach McDermott to build a championship organization. Tomlin has done the same thing in Pittsburgh – they just do it differently. Pittsburgh keeps things more in-house – they like that longevity.
What were your first days like – who helped you in Pittsburgh?
The first day in the meeting room Tomlin came in and announced that they signed a new back. He told them I’d be in pads and we’ll see what I could do.
That day Timmons hit me in practice and broke the clip on my helmet. That was actually a really fun day. I truly enjoyed how intense Tomlin and the environment was there. It was not laid back!
DeAngelo Williams – he was one of my biggest mentors there. He poked fun at the position I put myself in – getting suspended. He would joke that I needed my big brother to rescue me! He established himself as a leader in the organization. If you watch the team in 2016, the victory formations, he was in those kneel down formations. It was like they wanted their captain to close out the game, even if he wasn’t an official captain. He got less snaps than Le’Veon but he had a lot of respect.
Rosey Nix got on my case too and kept me in line. He understood the talent I had. Pouncey too. He was another Polk County guy and played for Florida – so he was a rival. But he knew what I was capable of and wanted me to be responsible off the field too.
Pittsburgh – they knew I’d be suspended before they signed me. But they told me they believed in me and felt I could be a very good player and were willing to stick it out and wait for me.
How did Tomlin create a more accountable environment?
He relied on players be accountable for themselves. If he couldn’t trust you to be on time and to get your reps in when it was time to work out, you couldn’t play there. That’s the attitude that got the team their six Super Bowls.
Before Pittsburgh I was living fast – not sleeping enough, not in the playbook enough, not doing all the reps in the weight room. In Pittsburgh you had no choice. Either you do those things or they fired your ass. They didn’t release you. They fired you. It was a job and if you didn’t do what you were supposed to do you’d be fined or fired.
I remember Coach Lynn in Buffalo was very black and white too which didn’t work as well for the younger guys. You can’t do that. I once wore sleeves for a game and he told me he wouldn’t let me touch the ball if I wore them. I went inside and had to change and had to put on Toughskin – that stuff would rip your skin off. Tomlin let you be yourself more – you just had to be accountable and do your job.
Were there some fun matchups between you and your brother?
It’s funny. It took two-to-three years for people to figure out that Vince and I were brothers when we were at Florida State. I never had a chance to watch Vince be the professional he was. When I got there he was already living off campus. Even then he’d go in early and stay late in practice. Once I saw him studying film at night on his Playstation. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he downloaded the app. He always wanted to turn his weaknesses into strengths.
I think Vince is one of the most underrated inside linebackers in NFL history. You watch his play and the splash plays he made. He was never a superstar in Pittsburgh and never wore the “C”, but he got the respect he deserved in the meeting room. No one knew much about him when he knocked out that All-Conference guard from Clemson in the Senior Bowl, or when he picked off guys like Brady. But he always knew what he could achieve.
He used to eat those smoked chicken wings that he loved from some place in Pittsburgh. He’d eat those all the way through the season – he wouldn’t eat any carbs. He wanted to be as fast as he could be. He’d tell me he had to cover Tyler Boyd in the slot – he couldn’t get fat!
What are some of the memories that stand out most to you of your time there?
The seven shots. I remember one series where Ben threw a comeback to Demarcus Ayers, then started yelling and pointing at the ground that he was going to spike the ball. Then he threw a pump fake back shoulder pass to AB for the touchdown and everyone went crazy.
The seven-on-sevens were the best. They were exciting and set the tone for the day. You always knew what kind of day it was going to be based on how those went. Tomlin made it a point to show that this could be how it went in a game. It was situational football – he stressed that.
Any good matchups with Vince?
We had one rep in a drill I remember – it was an open-field drill – one running back and one linebacker. It was an angle drill and I didn’t think he’d be able to beat me to the corner. I gave him a deal leg stutter and before I knew it his helmet was on mine. I didn’t realize he was that quick!
You spoke about the difference in Pittsburgh – but can you talk more about how exactly Tomlin created that accountability? How it showed day to day?
I think the way he sets the precedent is funny – not in a laughing way. If you weren’t prepared he’d call you out in front of everyone. And in the mornings he’d bring a piece of paper with names on it. It was a list of fines for players. There would be six names on it and he’d read them off with the amount of the fine – and they would be thousands of dollars. He did that first thing in the morning to set the tone. I thought that was funny but insane.
How was that different from Buffalo?
In Buffalo we’d have a fine box that might have thousands of dollars in it. But no one worried about paying them and no one was taking your helmet for what you did or didn’t do. In Pittsburgh you had to pay your fine right away and you were worried about losing your place.
What did he fine players for?
For being late to meetings, being under or over weight, missing workouts… If you were on the practice squad you had to get to your workouts by 5 am. You couldn’t be late because the roster guys came in after you. If you fell asleep in meetings, ate in meetings or had your phone in meetings, you’d be fined.
It was all about accountability – about being responsible for yourself. They wanted guys they knew they could go into battle with. Who they knew would take care of their responsibilities on and off the field.
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