First off, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
Currently, I’m working for Marathon Petroleum. I moved to Indianapolis here in May and work in the transportation and logistics division and manage everything in this region. We have three operations in Indiana and one in Champaign, Illinois.
How was the post-NFL transition for you?
The initial transition was difficult. At that time I was till trying to figure out what discipline I could transition into. This was right after the economic downturn. I relocated home – my dad had just passed away and I wanted to be closer to my mother and siblings. I looked at different opportunities – coaching, scouting…then I thought back to high school.. Back then I had wanted to learn more about manufacturing and oil and gas. The area I am from in Louisiana – we had a lot of oil and gas facilities there. A lot of people we knew worked in those facilities – my dad also worked at a steel mill for a time. So I became interested in the process of making finished products.
I went back to school and got a two-year degree in Applied Sciences and got hired afterwards as an intern at Marathon. They hired me after that.
But before that it was difficult. A lot of guys go through it – where even if they have a college degree, after football, they are behind other guys in terms of work experience. Businesses don’t think about the fact we still have the skillsets to succeed. I’ll guarantee you that retired players will outperform recent college graduates – we have so many more unique experiences and have learned how to work through adversity.
As a player, were there mentors that helped you most – how so?
As a kid, any first mentor was Lionel Washington. He was from the same high school and had a great football career. He would hold football camps at home and brought in other football players as well. That was big for us as kids from a small town. That gave me the initial foundation as a player.
I also have two cousins who helped me. Thomas Pittman – he was a two-sport athlete and was drafted in high school by Major League Baseball and got a football scholarship later too. And Bradley Pittman – I looked up to him. So my family members helped me early on.
At Northwestern State, they had defensive backs that went on to play in the NFL like Mike Greene and Kevin Thibodeaux – they came back around to show guys how to develop our craft and skillets. And when I went back home in the Summer, again Lionel Washington helped me. We’d go to school and work on my technique and skillsets.
Were you surprised to be drafted by the Ravens – and were you aware of the rivalry then?
I was surprised – the whole process was shocking, coming from a smaller school and small community. I was very humbled by the process. I did know about the rivalry – my uncle was a big Steelers fan. He liked the way they played physical football, and Louis Lipps was from our area so we had a connection to the team.
How did the Ravens prepare for the rivalry games?
Our approach was similar to other games – we looked at the skillset of the other team’s players and gameplanned. The extra piece though was just knowing that the AFC North was a harder division – those games were hard-hitting and we knew the history of the team going into the game.
The Monday and Sunday Night games had extra behind them – especially since those often happened later in the season when it was cold and rainy. Those was just nasty, physical games.
Any memories stand out most to you from those games?
The one game that stands out is the one I got a concussion and got knocked out of the game. It was a Monday Night game I think in Pittsburgh. It happened right before halftime. Ben threw a swing pass in the flat to Najee Davenport – he was a big guy. I remember hitting him – I remember everything up to that until I was knocked out!
The trash-talking too. Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes did it the most. Santonio and I knew each other prior to the NFL. We worked out together in Orlando before the draft. We’d just do that typical trash-talk. He’d tell me “You better be on your game today!”
How did you find your way later to the Steelers?
I had a lot of injuries and ended jump transitioning from Houston to the New York Sentinels – a UFL team. I had a good season and my agent made some calls to get me transitioned back into the NFL. and got me an opportunity with the Steelers.
How were the Ravens and Steelers similar or different?
The cultures between the two teams were very similar. When you were at the facility the mindset was how to approach the game and your craft in the best way.
Initially, in my mind, it felt at first like I was going to Enemy Number One! But after a while I got to know the guys. There were a lot of guys from around where I grew up – Ryan Clark, Mike Wallace, Keenan Lewis…so we joked a lot about that. The Steelers were more like the Darth Vader of the two teams since they had been around so much longer and had that history of success.
Both teams had guys from my area – Baltimore had Landry, Reed, Jones, Sams… that gave me a sense of calm on both teams. It makes you feel welcomed. I was still young and trying to figure things out so having that influence and familiarity helps me.
Any differences between the teams?
I think just between the coaches. Tomlin liked to joke around more than Billick. Billick was more philosophical – he was more like Belichick. He just wasn’t a player’s coach type of coach like Tomlin was. I gravitated more to the player’s coach type of coach. The coaches in the past who helped me most – like Jason Rowlands for example – I just gravitated more to that kind of coach.
But both teams had great defense coaches – Rex Ryan and Dick LeBeau. It’s funny – I didn’t even know LeBeau played football in the NFL at first!
Any funny moments that stand out to you most?
Ike Taylor was a big jokester. Troy was quiet – except for those big hits – but he was a big jokester too.
One funny moment in Baltimore I remember was when I was a rookie. They would send us to get food before we traveled. One time we were late getting back – everyone was on the buses getting ready to go to Washington for a game when we finally pulled up with bags of Popeyes chicken. I could feel the eyes of everyone on us as we walked jump to the bus. We were just hoping that the head coach, Rex Ryan or Ozzie Newsome wasn’t on our bus! Fortunately we didn’t get into too much trouble, but we were nervous!
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