First, can you let readers know what you are doing with yourself now?

I’m working out and staying healthy. I’m still a free agent. Right now I’m working with high school kids – I’ve been hosting a kids skills camp for about two weeks now. It’s for local area kids and semi-pro guys looing to live the football dream. The main focus is on the high school kids, working on seven-on-sevens, which is big now. I’m trying to help keep them active in the offseason. Giving  back to the community – and I can taking this experience with me when I’m done with football.

Any coaching experiences and influences affect you the most?

Football is football. I take the knowledge I’ve gained and learned from all of my coaches – from high school to the pros. I try to make it easy for the kids to understand.  Because I played in the pros  they respect me and sponge off my knowledge and experience. They have respect for what comes out of a pro’s mouth.

All the coaches I worked under helped me tremendously. From the mottos to simple stuff like workouts… To tell the truth it’s pretty simple for a guy that’s been doing this for so long.

You were an undrafted free agent. Were you surprised and/or frustrated at not being drafted?

I didn’t know if I’d get drafted. I was always going to be a late round guy. It didn’t matter to me. What mattered was getting the opportunity. I always had to fight through adversity.  Yeah, I was discouraged when I wasn’t drafted, I can’t tell you I wasn’t. But it just gave me more fire – it pushed me harder in the right direction. To know all those guys were taken before me…

Why do you think that was?

They said I was maybe tight in the hips…I also got into a little trouble at UTEP. That might have rubbed some the wrong way. But I was ninth in the college football in tackles my senior season. I played good – but I sprained my MCL and that set me back. I didn’t get a combine invite. If I did that would have helped me. I had to wait to show my ability off at my pro day. I did well, but it’s not like the combine.

How did you decide to sign with Pittsburgh?

They called me in the seventh round – they said they had a another guy they wanted to get in the seventh but wanted to get me right after the draft . I got other calls but they were looking at me now….my agent told me they had let us know this.

And why Pittsburgh over those other teams?

Playing behind Polamalu pushed me definitely. I could learn a lot from him – a great guy to learn behind. The scheme was also a good fit for me. I played in a 3-3-5 in college – I played like a linebacker. So playing in the box in Pittsburgh was a good fit. I knew I could fit well there. I didn’t know about the weather though! I was a California kid – the three-hour difference and snow was an experience!

How did Troy Polamalu and the other safeties help you?

The helped tremendously. Troy, Mundy, Clark, Allen … It was something trying to beat out those guys.  I was always like the fifth safety – was always an uphill battle with those guys there.

Troy showed me a lot. I was star-struck some as a rookie.  I tried to talk with Troy about football but he didn’t like to talk about football outside of the locker room. I once asked him about Taylor Mays and he was like, “Who?” He liked to talk about California. He was a real humble guy. The humblest I’ve known in my four years there.

Ryan Clark got me verbal. I was quiet – and they wanted me to be a talker. Tomlin liked my physicality but he didn’t like me not being vocal. He wanted to know that I knew what was going on and that I could quarterback the defense. He wanted me to talk and communicate more – talk what I see.

How strong was the leadership on the team then and how did everyone stay humble with so much early success?

There were a lot of veterans – it was very old school. We won the Super Bowl my rookie year – everyone had their respect. We all remained level-headed. That rookie year was surreal – winning the Super Bowl.  And we had adversity the next season – but nobody ever felt we couldn’t win a game. Hampton, Farrior, Ward, Polamalu….they kept the team level. And we had some young guys too – Wallace, Brown, Sanders….they were very competitive. But the veterans kept everyone level-headed.

How did humor play a part – any funny experiences you can recall?

Oh yeah – Ward got me. We were out stretching in camp one day and Ward, he’s that guy out there messing around. He’s not even stretching. I’m laying on the grass doing quad stretches and Ward came over.  He said he had this bad feeling in his mouth – like a bad filling or cavity. He was standing over me opening his mouth so I could see. I lean back so I can see better, and he throws a handful of grass in my mouth and runs away laughing – and everyone around is laughing too. Now, I’m almost pissed! I can’t believe he did that. But a few days later he did  it to some other guys – he did it to everyone. It’s just one of a million good memories of my four years there.

Clark and Foote – they loved to talk. The most talkative guy was Foote – and he was right across from me. He used to play against my brother who was a fullback in Cleveland. He used to talk about that war all the time. At the pool table, ping pong table – you could hear those guys arguing and debating every day…

In 2013, the Steelers released you. What happened there and how did you react to it?

My heart almost broke. I had no more practice squad eligibility  I needed to make the team more than anything that year. They brought in a new special teams coach Danny Smith and he was there for me. He believed in me right away and helped me take my game to a new level. I showed him how persistent I could be – how much I wanted it. I had no practice squad eligibility and I needed another accredited season.

That year I finally made the team – I had never cracked the starting 53 on opening day before. I love him still to this day for helping me do that.

But, I got hurt in the London game. I pulled my quad on the last kick off of the game and needed about six to eight weeks to recover. The team was o-4 then – and Coach Tomlin said he couldn’t carry dead weight.  He had to make a move. It was cutthroat. I stayed the bye week we had after the game to show the coaches I was serious about my rehab. I made sure the coaches knew I was serious. But that week I had a bad feeling. I saw Will Allen in the training room – he had just been released and the Steelers signed him. I got a tap on my shoulder and was told Coach Tomlin wanted to see me. My heart was broken then.

What hit me the most was that I wasn’t replaced by an undrafted free agent. I was replaced by a starter. It hurt me in a different way. So, I had to go home to California. It wasn’t like I was making that much money so I went home to get healthy. I was hurt and so no one picked me up until the following season when Washington brought me in.

Any other memories of your time there?

I’ll never forget my first play with the Steelers – I mean my first regular season play. I was on the practice squad for two years before I was finally called up my third season. I was always pissed – not making the final 53. I was always so close-  the 54th guy. The practice squad was my weekly job. They’d make me play wide receiver to help prepare against the next week’s guy. I’d go at Ike Taylor and impressed those guys. I gave them good looks – and got respect from those guys because of it. You earn respect in the NFL by making plays.

Well, in December I was called up for a Thursday Night game against Cleveland. I was brought up to cover kicks – nothing major. I was so happy – finally! I got the chance to bring it on the field. The team had it’s regular meeting the day before the game where they cover the game plan, some motivational stuff… But this time it was different – the coach keyed it more on me. Told everyone how hard I worked and that he couldn’t wait to see what I  would do. We were going against Josh Cribbs who always gave us trouble so I wanted to get him. I told the coach after the meeting how much I appreciated it – how hard I wanted it!

Of course that game we won the coin toss, and of course we elected to kick off. I felt like everyone was watching me. My eyes were red – I was so eager. I was running down the field – I couldn’t hear anything except my own breathing. I defeated a blocker and tackled Cribbs inside the twenty. I was so excited  and ran off the field so fast the players said they couldn’t even tell who made the tackle! That was one of the greatest moments ever for me. Sean Kugler – the new offensive line coach there – he was from UTEP too. He was so excited for me – he said they all had their money on DC!

Any last thoughts  for readers and your time in Pittsburgh?

I loved my time there.  Playing with the Steelers – I played for many other organizations but there was nothing like that. The Terrible Towel and the “Oh Mama!…” The fans are great – the towels and Steelers Nation always travel great. And that pushed us as players. I was so appreciative – I will always have love for the Steelers. Winning the Super Bowl as a rookie….I went through a lot – a lot of adversity in life. Playing football is really just a job – but the love you get in and out of your job is what matters – and playing in Pittsburgh was great.

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