First, can you let readers know what you’ve been doing since being with the Steelers?

After I left the Steelers I played for five more years winning a Super Bowl with the Giants, and officially retired in 2012.  After retirement I became the definition of an entrepreneur, and have been leading a project for franchising in my home state of North Carolina. And now that the groundwork has been laid, I’m looking to get into something that suits my goal-oriented nature and success driven personality; for me it’s Pharma or bio tech sales.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a few great people from a company called Bioventus.  And after meeting with about four people from the company, I realized that I truly have a passion to work in that field.  I really enjoyed the culture of the company and people, and the actual devices they make are beneficial to a lot of individuals.  Overall my plan and goal is to bring the success I had on the field to a company like Bioventus.  So since, I left school early to pursue my NFL career I plan to return and finish my last 17 credits and possibly intern or shadow in the Pharma or Medical Device field and then jump into the industry and make a name for myself.

How hard was it for you to adjust to life after the NFL and how did you do so?

It wasn’t hard but it was a bit of a process. I will say it helps when you’re able to put things into perspective.  I doubled the average career for an NFL player and accomplished something very few players have done in the NFL – win a Super Bowl.  And not just winning any Super Bowl but winning under conditions that made others think our team could not defeat an unbeaten New England patriots team.  Also I was lucky enough to have met people who helped prepare me for life after football.  I had a great mentor in former Steelers Pro-Bowler Duval Love aka “one Love”, who played from 1992-1994 with the Steelers, and on top of that when I officially retired I immediately started working with people like Charles Horton who is Founder/CEO of Professionals Helping Professionals, a legacy creation firm that works with individuals and small to medium size businesses to help them achieve their maximum success through their integrated services model.  And William Blackmon who runs Apogee – he is a small business entrepreneur leading various consulting partners to service strategic customers in social media audits, marketing campaigns, social selling, brand development, and corporate training workshops.  William consults and trains students and professionals at networking groups, educational institutions, and government agencies that elevates product and personal brand development for career growth and awareness.  And last but not least Samantha Kleinman with the NFLPE has also been a key in the transition from the field to a more corporate environment.

You signed on with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2006 after some time in NFL Europe. Why Pittsburgh and how did NFL Europe help prepare you for life on the NFL?

Pittsburgh was one of three teams that expressed interest in me.  Dan Rooney, Jr. who I still thank to this day (thank you for your belief in me Dan) was the only one that went from being interested to believing in me enough to give me a chance.  Dan wanted me to take all 270 pounds of myself to NFL Europe to get bigger and stronger, because in the NFL 310 pounds might have been the smallest lineman I’ve seen.  NFL Europe helped me do just that, I got bigger.  And I got to experience what was a very similar image of the lifestyle off the field and honestly an exact replica of some of the politics that are involved in the NFL.  The experience was invaluable and I came away with a great mentor and still to this day have a great friend in Duval Love.

Especially entering the NFL after playing at a small college (Howard) what was your biggest adjustment to the NFL?

That’s a difficult question to answer.  I’m not sure how to answer that.  I think there is a huge adjustment from college to the NFL in general, so I don’t think I had bigger adjustments to make than someone from a division 1A college.  I will admit to being in awe of some of the facilities but that’s about it.  Other than that the biggest obstacle I had to overcome was the perception of not being as talented as someone that went to a division 1A school because I chose to go to a division 1AA.

What Steeler veterans helped mentor you as a young player – both on and off the field – and how did they do so? Any examples?

I was actually fortunate enough that a lot of guys mentored me;   Willie Parker, Max Starks, Joey Porter, Marvel Smith, and Alan Faneca just to name a few.  And it’s funny it probably took a whole month for Marvel to even speak to me but one day before practice he came over to me and helped me out with some techniques and shared some words of wisdom, same thing with Alan.  Joey Porter taught me how to practice and not only that but how to use my competitive nature to overcome disadvantages of height or strength.  And last but not least I have to say one of my best friends still till this day was Max Starks, on and off the field.

How much did humor play a part in that and on the team in general – can you offer some examples of the hijinks or funny occurrences?

Humor played a huge part on the team in general, any time you have grown men that have made a living playing a kids game, you have a recipe for pranks,  constant jokes, and trash talking.  I will personally not incriminate myself or anyone else, on how childish we can be in the locker room… .  But I will say, you get a wide array from “yo mama” jokes, to coach impersonations, to elaborate pranks that take days to plan.  In general imagine your favorite funny movies and some of the hijinks involved and multiple that ten-fold.

You played for nine teams across three leagues over your six year football career. Including being waived and re-signed by the Steelers. How hard was that for you and how do you deal with that uncertainty as a player?

Not many young people 21-27 years of age get to experience being hired and fired and hired.  What you take from that is an even deeper belief in yourself and an ability to cope with adversity and disappointment being level enough emotionally to deal with the highs and lows.

Who were some of the toughest players you lined up against and what made them so?

I always tell people at the NFL level the difference between a starter and a back-up is so small that most of the time it’s just about opportunity, or timing, or luck, or sometimes politics. BUT those guys that are Pro Bowlers there is a clear gap, those guys are on another level.  Like James Harrison who was Joey Porters back-up at one point in time, the most complete player I’ve ever played against power and speed short and low to the ground.  Then you have Joey Porter a four time pro bowler, who doesn’t like to lose, and his competitive nature gives him something extra that can’t be measured or timed.

Michael Strahan a Hall of Famer already, enough said.  Osi Umenyiora for 260 pounds his speed was unreal, I think the game where had six sacks in one game speaks to how fast he can get of the line.  Also, Justin Tuck probably the most solid and powerful player I went against, was just a headache every time we hit each other.  And these last two guys I’ll just give you there stats and that should explain what made them so tough.  Terdell Sands the biggest man I’ve ever went head up against at 6’8” or 6’7” and 350 pounds.. And then Tommy Kelly at 6’6” 340, that was rough also.  I can keep going but I’ll stop there, so I can point out the fact that no one on this list every got the best of me OVERALL, just to be transparent and clear.

So you watch the NFL now? What do you think of the way the game has changed now?

Yes even though I’m done playing I still enjoy watching the games.  I haven’t had the experience that some of my teammates have where it’s painful to view a game.   I will say I do find myself cheering for certain teams to lose that I might not have had the best experience playing for… .  But the league has officially changed into pass a heavy league.  It’s funny because as a line man I love teams that run the ball.  Ground and pound, but where I exceled at in the NFL was pass blocking protecting the quarterback.  So it’s a little conflicting to see the NFL turn into a pass heavy league.

What advice would you give you players today?

If you want to accomplish something be ready to put the work in and have the resolve to see it completed, along with balance emotionally, socially, physically and mentally.

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