First, can you let readers know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL, and how you got started?

Well, my first year I spent trying to decide if I still wanted to play. We just had our oldest daughter and I felt like my perspective had changed.  I felt bad – how could I be a dad if I traveled all over the place. So the first year was pretty much daddy day care, taking care of her. We just had our second girl last April – and my wife jump-started her career afterwards.

Now, I’m finishing my degree at Northwestern in Biomedical Engineering.

What do you want to do with that?

I want to work with orthotics – with organizations like the Wounded Warriors, and with athletes, to help with injured limbs.

Do you miss the NFL?

Certain aspects yes – but some things I don’t miss – like Latrobe, I’ll tell you that!

But I do miss being around the guys – miss that a lot. And the schedule in the NFL was made for you every day. Now, I have to make my own schedule – that was the hardest adjustment. But overall it was a smooth transition. I have my girls to occupy me. After I was released by the Steelers and Colts, I knew it could be the end of the line, and I was ok with that by then.

You were a very good basketball player in high school- an All-Conference player in Indiana. What made you decide to choose football over basketball, and how difficult of a choice was that for you?

I was better suited for football, yeah. I didn’t get past 6’5″ and that makes it tough for basketball. In high school the doctors told me I’d get to 6’8″, but God had other plans for me and I never got past 6’5″. I got better college offers for football than basketball too. I thought maybe I could play both in college but that wasn’t a smart option. So it was football by default.

You were drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh in 2005 – so the choice paid off! Were you surprised to be drafted by the Steelers – and at all concerned considering the veteran depth they had at OL with  Faneca, Hartings, Smith, Starks and others there?

The whole process was a whirlwind, to be honest. I didn’t know what to expect. At the combine I was interviewed by a number of teams and I thought either Kansas City or Buffalo would draft me. I didn’t even visit Pittsburgh. Come draft day I had no clue the Steelers were interested – but the Steelers were my favorite team then. Rod Woodson was a local hero and he was from here – I went to his football camp. Barry Foster, Andre Hastings and other Steelers were from here too.

On draft day, I got the call from Coach Cowher on April 15th – he asked me if I was ready to be a Steeler! I could hear his chin in the air! Actually {Kevin} Colbert called me first and told me he had someone who wanted to talk to me. Cowher asked if I was ready to be a Steeler and I said “Hell yeah!” That was one of my top ten memories of all time.

What was your biggest adjustment to playing on the Steelers OL – and what was unique about their blocking schemes and approach versus what you experienced in college?

The defense is much more complex in the NFL. That meant the offensive line responsibilities were a lot harder. At Northwestern, as the left tackle I had to deal with the defensive end. That was pretty much it. And maybe the back end if we ran the three-technique. That was pretty much it. In the NFL you have to know much more about the defense because they are so complex.

Russ Grimm  – the knowledge I got from him to be successful was great. It took a while to sink in. There is so much a defense does and you need to learn and know your pre-reads. It all happens in seconds – the game happens so fast and you need to be able to react. The speed of the game itself was not a difficult thing for me though. I was so scared and wired all of the time – I moved fast to get anywhere!

Who helped mentor you and helped you to adjust to life as a rookie OL in the NFL – both on and off the field – and how so?

Max {Starks} was a huge help – he took me under his wing. Alan Faneca and Marvel Smith – there were Pro Bowlers – I was nervous talking to them. I was intimidated at first. But they had a standard – there was no such thing as a rookie once you’re on the team. You just had a job to do. That resonated with me and was the case for every offensive lineman since. There were no airs on the room – you needed to live up to the greats that were there before you. They helped show me that path and helped me maintain it. And Max was the biggest help – he showed me what he learned the year before.

One of the biggest factors that made you so valuable to the team was your “position flexibility”. As a player, how did you feel being moved around from OG to OT. Did it make it more difficult to master one role?

The flexibility became my role. It helped the team consolidate roster spots and made me more valuable to the team. I got used to it.

It was hard to move from left tackle to right tackle. I spent the entire offseason after my rookie year on that. I thought I’d be a left tackle at first and was naïve. I knew I’d need to know more than one position. After that the move to guard was easy. The move to center was much harder – snapping the ball was so different. But being able to play any position on any day was very helpful. The learning curve was definitely a challenge though.

How much of a factor did humor play on those Steelers teams and what were some of the funniest moments you can remember – both on and off the field?

We were as serious as football players can be, but there was still a lot of levity. We weren’t too big for ourselves to be made fun of. Russ Grimm would be quick to yell at you but he would also show you all the funny stuff when guys made mistakes too. The offensive line was a tight-nit group. There were plenty of jokes – you couldn’t mess up and not get rubbed for a while.

Max will kill me about this one. Every year we did a Christmas gag gift. We’d pick each other’s names from a hat – like Secret Santa – but with funny gifts. Kendall Simmons got me once and the thing he got me…. it was a life-sized yellow peanut M&M cut-out, but with my picture on it. He told me I was shaped like a big peanut M&M and I needed to work on my body!

Well – it was an annual tradition. And getting back to Max. You know that in close groups there’s that one guy that isn’t good at telling jokes. They were just corny. Well, Max was that guy.  So every year – without his knowledge – I’d make a list of all the bad jokes he told. I’d bargain with others who wanted the list and they’d use it every year like the David Letterman top ten bad joke list and show it on the screen!

You were released by Pittsburgh in 2012 and went on to play for Indianapolis. What prompted that  move and how difficult was that for you?

That year was a rollercoaster – I was the starter going into camp. I had a really good OTA – my best as a professional. But I had a scope done afterwards and I never really recovered from it in time for training camp. I struggled mightily. Then Beachum came in and had a good camp. They brought Marcus Gilbert in and Max was brought back. I saw the writing on the wall.

I cried when Kevin Colbert called to tell me I was going to be released, don’t get me wrong. But I knew I had tape out there – I played in Super Bowls and could play multiple positions – I knew I would had value for some team, but I knew it wouldn’t be until after week one, when contracts weren’t guaranteed any more. That worked out well for me.

Jacksonville and Indianapolis called. Me being from Indianapolis – it was an easy decision. My parents so they could easily see me play – and it was like a homecoming. We actually thought about moving to Indianapolis the year before to be closer to my parents – free babysitting!

Also, Bruce Arians and Goodwin were in Indianapolis too. It made the transition easy. I knew everything – just the terminology was a bit different. It was the easiest decision to make.

What do you think about the way the game has changed today and what advice would you give younger guys entering the game today?

The game is changing. When I came in you ran the ball a lot more. There wasn’t the shift to open, spread offenses like there is now. Still, at it’s base, it’s a mano y mano game. You still need to beat the man across from you.

I’d advise kids today who want to get drafted – position flexibility is key. Unless you’re a first-round pick with a defined position, you need to learn every position in your position group. I’m a living testament to that. And that way, if one team doesn’t want you, another will. You’ll have added value to your player profile.

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