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Happy Birthday to Maurkice Pouncey

Former teammates’ and coaches’ comments on Maurkice Pouncey:

Fernando Velasco: “Pouncey. Even though he was hurt he helped me every step of the way. That shows the character of the man too. None of them knew me from dirt, but they all helped me. That’s why I still root for them today and see how they’re doing.”

Steve Johnson: “Pouncey and I would go at it a lot – he would get dirty and see if he could strike some fear in you but I didn’t let him push me around. You had to butt heads there to earn respect.”

Vance McDonald: “Al could get so fired up with almost any topic. He and Dave were good friends but would argue about everything. Then Pounce would join in and throw fuel into the fire and get Al worked up. You’d think Pouncey was heated about the topic too, then he’d look at you and give you that signature wink and you knew he was just getting a rise out of Al!”

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Ronald Stanley, 2005-2007

First, can you tell me a bit about what you’re doing with yourself now – your work with students and your foundation?

Well, right now I’m the Dean at a local high school here in Saginaw, Michigan. I started here a couple of years ago.

My foundation was started by me and my wife because of our personal experiences we had. We lost four children due to miscarriages and two due to ectopic pregnancies. We’ve dealt with that over the past four years. We did have one successful pregnancy – we have a daughter who is five years old.

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Former Steelers Wide Receiver Charles Johnson Passes Away

Some comments on Charles from former Steelers/players:

Will Blackwell: “Charles Johnson trained with me. He picked me up and I showed him San Diego State and he built a training program that we worked out on.”

Corey Holliday: “The receiver group at the time had a lot of characters – Charles Johnson had the funniest laugh you have ever heard, when he laughed it made you laugh even if you didn’t know why he was laughing.”

Kordell Stewart: “Charles Johnson, Deion Figures, Ariel Solomon, Joel Steed, Chad Brown… they were all buddies from Colorado. They had my back. When I got there I felt comfortable.”

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Exclusive with Steelers Offensive Lineman Nate Gilliam

First off, why sign with the Steelers last season – and what did they tell you when they signed you?

I was with the Chargers for one-and-a-half years and learned so much there from the coaches and players. I was seven-to-eight weeks out of the league when the Steelers’ front office called. I had a workout for the Packers before that. I thought the Steelers wanted me to come in for a workout first, but my agent said “No.” They wanted to sign me outright.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been blown away ever since. When I signed there one guy helped me right away – we had related journeys. John Leglue asked me if I needed help and we got to know each other. He’s a genuine guy that helped me.

I really mean this. Every team does things their own way – they do things differently. But there are so many great people in this organization – Kevin and Tomlin and now a new GM in Omar. They are all first class people and know how to treat players even though I’m not a quarterback or first round pick.

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Exclusive with Steelers Outside Linebacker Delontae Scott

First, can you let me know how the offseason is going?

It’s going well. Going in to camp I’m working on my pass rushing moves and making sure to be in shape. We were told to come back in the best shape of our lives so I’m enjoying and hating doing that at the same time!

I was always told that conditioning is one of the biggest separators in sports. My basketball coach had the hardest conditioning programs I had ever seen, We’d have running ladders where we ran five sets – the first set had to be done in nine seconds, the second in 21, and so on…

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Defensive Lineman Fran Mallick, 1965

First, can you tell me a bit about what you did after football?

Well, when I got cut from Pittsburgh I moved to Connecticut. One of the coaches from Pittsburgh went on to coach the Connecticut team in the Continental League and talked me in to coming up and playing for them.

I did pretty well there – I was the MVP there for three of the four seasons there. I ended up settling in Connecticut. I was from Pittsburgh originally. But I liked Connecticut. I had two kids – a son and a daughter.

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Exclusive with Sports Artist Larry Klu

First, can you tell us how you got started as an artist?

I’ve been an artist my whole life. I was the youngest of eight kids. When I wasn’t playing sports on the street or in the yard – or the vacant lot near us – if it was a rainy day or early evening, I’d be inside drawing with paper and pencil.

I think my siblings had me draw pictures for them to stop bugging them! My dad was a doodler too and would draw with me.

At Edinboro College I graduated with a concentration in art. I wanted to teach art but was worried about being able to get a job. My wife – then girlfriend – she told me I should start off by becoming an elementary school teacher and I did that for 19 years.

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Exclusive with Steelers Offensive Lineman J. C. Hassenauer

First, how has the offseason been going? Still working out at the Minnesota farm?

Yeah I’m back at the house in Minnesota. I have my trainer and doctors out here and a nice workout routine. It’s a nice home base here.

A big difference since last time we spoke pre-Covid. What’s been the biggest thing for you in terms of how things have changed for you?

The biggest thing was playing and getting experience. I was fortunate to get the chance to start some games. Every game I play I try to take something away from it and become a better player. Technique, learning about the player I play against – just something to make me a better player.

I’m an especially self-analyzing player – I never just take what the coaches or other players say about me. I have my own system for taking my own notes to see where I struggled and did well.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Wide Receiver Chris George, 1996-1997

First, can you let us know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?

I work for Eli Lilly in their Oncology Division. When I finished playing I thought I’d go the coaching route and coached with Coach Rodriguez for a year at Glenville State. But I realized after that that coaching wasn’t for me. I wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice away from my family that I saw coaching took.

I was dating my now wife then. She was in Glenville but I saw her more playing for the Steelers than I did coaching for Glenville State. So after that I looked for that competitiveness I loved in football in sales. I sold ads for Fox television before taking a job with Merck, then moved on here to Eli Lilly where I’ve been now for over 20 years.

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Exclusive with Steelers Coaching Intern/Akron DB Coach Tre’ Bell

First, tell me what prompted you to want to become a coach?

I always knew I wanted to be a coach. My dad was a coach my whole life – we were a sports-oriented family. Basketball was number one and football after that. We always stayed around the game.

I watched my dad’s impact on the community. He was more than a head coach – he was a leader in the community. I knew that’s what I wanted to do, but I wanted to take it to the next level and coach in college.

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