First, can you let us know what you’ve been up to since your time in the NFL?
After the NFL I took a year off to get my body right. My last season in the NFL was cut short after an injury to my knee that really ended my career.
I lost weight and after that year coached high school football at Pine-Richland then the last couple of years I’ve been helping out at Pitt with some video analysis for the team.
Any coaching lessons over your career influence how you coached?
I think it was really just basic stuff – it was high school so it wasn’t anything crazy I was teaching the kids. Basic stuff like pass protection calls and helping them to find the best way to identify blitzes and make calls.
Was the post-NFL transition difficult? Why/why not?
It was tough at first. I missed doing things with the team – being in the locker room, traveling with the team on game days and all the work that went into it. With my knee injury, I just couldn’t play anymore. It wasn’t at least like teams weren’t calling me. I just couldn’t go anymore. I played until the wheels fell off, so that is satisfying at least.
Stepping back – were you surprised to get drafted by the Steelers?
I wasn’t interviewed by them in the main interviews at the combine. I had six of those interviews but the Steelers weren’t one of those teams. I did talk to the offensive line coach then {Larry Zierlein} in the main pit they have there, where all the tables are for each team. We talked some there but it was not a formal sit-down interview.
They called me the second day of the draft in the morning. I had breakfast then they called – It was Kevin Colbert who told me they were going to draft me first, then he handed it over to Coach Tomlin who asked me if I was ready to be a Steeler.
Anyone take you under their wing when you got there – how so?
All of them did, really. It was a good group. I was a third round pick – I was a guy who had the potential to take a job away from one of them, but the mentality was still to help the young guys – to make sure they were ready to play and help the team. Willie Colon and Trai Essex were instrumental helping to mentor me.
Most of their help was showing me how to read blitzes and with pass protection. I had never seen a defense like the Steelers in college. They helped me with film work and the mentality of the game.
I knew every day was do or die there. I went up against some amazing players like Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke. And they drafted Ziggy Hood in the first round that season so I went up against him a lot. It was just a fight to improve every day.
You were there just one year but then went on to find a lot of success in Buffalo. What happened in Pittsburgh?
I just think I didn’t have a very good camp any rookie season. My head was swimming – it was all going too fast for me at the time. I can admit to that. I improved by that second season and camp but they needed someone they could trust to step in as a backup – they needed that roster spot.
When Buffalo picked me up they did so first for depth. Joe D’Alessandris was an amazing coach. It wasn’t just “Hey, you’re here.” He worked with me and helped me learn the center position – something I never played before. He wanted to get me to the point where I could be a good swing guy. By week four or five I was suiting up for games there.
Any memories stand out most to you of your time in Pittsburgh?
I loved the Friday Night Lights practices. And I was always amazed at training camp, how many people came out to show support for the team – how passionate they were. We didn’t have anything like that in college or even really on the other NFL teams I played for.
It was also a unique group of offensive linemen. At camp we were all tight-knit and we’d have nights out together. We’d also do later film sessions between the quarterbacks and offensive lineman to make sure we were all on the same page, then we’d hang out and eat and play cards. Those were fun times to bond and get to know each other better.
I was lucky too – the year before at the rookie dinner, there was just one rookie lineman and he got stuck with a huge bill. My rookie year all of us went to the Capital Grille, but I had Ramon Foster and AQ Shipley to split the bill with, at least!
Do you watch the NFL today? Any thoughts on how the game has changed, especially from an offensive lineman’s perspective?
I love what is going on today. Defensive linemen today are 310-plus pounds and still run 4.6 40’s. They’re quick and agile – guys like Aaron Donald and Chris Jones. It was a different era when I was in Buffalo. The guys then were much bigger – not as athletic usually. The game has changed a lot that way.
Also, I love what guys like Shanahan are doing in San Francisco with the running game. The run schemes are fun and different now – moving tight ends and even using the fullback in different ways. And of course the passing game is more sophisticated today.
Lastly, any advice for young offensive linemen trying to make an NFL squad today?
Get into the playbook, yes. If you don’t know what to do you won’t see the field. If coaches don’t trust you they won’t play y0u and risk you messing up and getting the quarterback or running back killed. The most successful rookies I’ve seen are the ones that know what they are doing – who are in the playbook day in and day out. The least successful ones are the ones that didn’t study enough and were never trusted to play.
College programs today – many have just one or two pass protections and run spread offenses. Linemen just need to slide left or slide right. They aren’t ready for the NFL where there could be over 20 pass protection schemes. You need to know what you’re doing so you can do what you have to do as fast as possible.
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