First off, I know you’re coaching quarterbacks now at William & Mary – how did that start?
In January I was working at the shipyard – I was out of football – I was coaching basketball as a volunteer but that was it. I wasn’t involved in football.
But then I got a call out of the blue. I didn’t have any conversations with him before, but Coach London at William & Mary called and said they had a job that just opened up coaching quarterbacks there. The other guy just left and Spring ball was starting in a month. He was just calling then to see if I was interested.
I told him I haven’t been looking for a coaching job but if the situation was right I would definitely be interested. We had a conversation and I spoke to my wife afterwards and it all lined up. A day later I gave my two-week notice at the shipyard!
Any coaching lessons/coaches you find yourself emulating now as a coach?
You take something from every coach you play for. But Coach Rodgers at Virginia Tech – he put his stamp on me. He had me for three years – I began starting under him. He instilled a lot of foundational things in me that I carried with me throughout my career.
Like what?
The biggest thing were things like footwork and timing. Paying attention to detail. Understanding your routine as a quarterback – when you break the huddle looking at the playclock, identifying the safety and front, making sure everyone is lined up correctly. Getting the right depth in drops. When you fake a handoff, carrying that fake the same way every time. Those small things add up. When we watched film, if he saw you not tuck your arm in on handoffs, that was a minus.
I know you had to really navigate the NFL’s wanting to use you as a receiver versus quarterback in the NFL – how do you see the NFL’s adoption of athletic quarterbacks today versus when you played?
Absolutely. When I came out Michael Vick was leading the movement for athletic quarterbacks. The big difference now is the RPO. That has changed the game. Back then athletic quarterbacks were given plays like bootlegs and draws. But the RPO puts more pressure on defenses. Now whole offenses are built around athletic quarterbacks.
When I came out the Eagles wanted me to play running back – they were really the only team that asked me to play something other than quarterback. Now they wanted me to take on linebackers and block? I told them “I’ll pass!”
Getting established as a dual-threat quarterback – teams weren’t utilizing them like they are now. That label was unfair as a dual-threat. There aren’t many guys who can make it to the NFL – you have to be able to do more than run and the dual-threat label then meant you were really a runner who could throw a bit. There aren’t many guys who can outrun an entire defense every play though.
Why did you decide to sign with the Steelers in 2007?
I planned to play in NFL Europe to get more playing time. I was talking to the Bears when I got a call out of the blue. The Steelers asked me to come in and throw for them and I did – it was just one guy running routes for me. I signed that day.
It was more than just signing with Pittsburgh for me though. I was a Pittsburgh fan growing up – my whole family was. It was like a dream just to get a workout. Signing was a no-brainer.
Anyone there take you under their wing at all in Pittsburgh?
The quarterback room was awesome. Charlie Batch – I knew of him from Detroit – I was most impressed with him. He was just so efficient – he knew his stuff. It was like having another starter. He helped me understand how to make reads and things like that. He was always there to help.
Even off the field he taught me so much about working with the community. His foundations and investments – being a part of that.
How as a backup/young quarterback trying to make a team do you negotiate the limited reps – how do you prove yourself?
Right there is the hardest thing. I wasn’t a first or second string guy – I was fighting for a job and trying to prove myself. That’s the hardest thing to do in professional sports when you don’t get reps. They have no obligation to give you reps.
You have to have luck on your side and be put in a position to be able to show what you got. Are they keeping three quarterbacks? There are so many variables.
I saw how that worked when I was in Atlanta – I never played at all that first season but they put me on the practice squad.
What happened in Pittsburgh?
I thought I had an opportunity to make the team. They had Ben and Charlie but then they brought Brian St. Pierre back. He had played in Baltimore and Pittsburgh before then – he was a five-year vet. I thought it may have made more financial sense to keep me.
We had five preseason games that season. I got little reps in practice – ones and twos. I got to play in the fourth quarter of the Hall of Fame game and got two drives in there.
We played Washington the following week and in the third quarter they told me I was going in. Then the defense got a turnover – I ran to get my helmet and they told me they were holding off on putting me in and out Brian in. Then I didn’t play the rest of the game.
Did they say why?
There was no explanation. After the game Brian came up and apologized to me and said that wasn’t right what happened. The quarterback coach did too. But what can you say as a player? There’s not much you can do to fight for your cause. That’s just how it goes.
As a college quarterback coach now, how do you see the quarterbacks today differing from those in 2007? Is the NFL easier or harder as a quarterback from your perspective and why?
I think the evolution of the game has opened doors for a lot of guys. College offenses now use the spread and RPOs so a lot of quarterbacks that wouldn’t have gotten looks before are getting them now. KC and Philadelphia – they run the same offenses as some colleges do. So that gives some quarterbacks an advantage.
Does it work against college quarterbacks as well in their ability to adapt to the NFL?
That can be true as well. Quarterbacks don’t have to think as much – there are less checks and reads and you don’t see as many defenses when you run the spread – you don’t see certain looks and blitzes and formations that you see in the NFL. That’s the downside.
But, if a quarterback can play he can play. The IQ stuff I think you can teach. Not everyone is at the same level but if you have the ability then that’s why the have coaches – to teach the less polished players the rest of that stuff. That’s their job.
Any fun/poignant memories from your time in Pittsburgh you can share?
One off-the-field thing. My parents came up the day before a home preseason game and we were all going to the hotel. I wasn’t making big money then. I went to get our rooms booked when Chris Kemoeatu saw me. He said “Randall, are those your people?” I told him those were my parents, and he said “I got you!” He paid for me and my parents’ rooms. “I got you, QB!” he said and paid for all of us.
That was the coolest thing to me. To him it probably wasn’t a big deal, but it was a big deal to me! That’s what I love most about the team – that comradery and team part. I’ll never forget that.