First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your time playing football?
I’m in the transportation business – I own a transportation service – a 26-foot box truck and haul freight, move people – anything that fits that I can haul. I got into it last year and it’s doing really well. I enjoy it and like working for myself.
Was the post-football adjustment difficult for you?
It wasn’t too bad for me. It got close at one point but I got some things together and got into coaching and training. That was the path a lot of athletes take when they are done – it’s familiar. I trained high school, junior high and college athletes. That was easy – I loved to work out so I enjoyed that.
I also coached at a junior college in Mississippi for two years – coached running backs. That was a great experience.
After that something came over me – I just wanted to branch out and try something new. That’s when I started my own business.
Were there coaches you played for that helped shape your approach to coaching?
Greg Knox – my college running backs coach. He was like a father figure and made it fun. He knew how to juggle being a father figure, friend and coach. That stuck with me. In the running back meetings he’d play music and have us read Bible verses first – I grew up with that too so I enjoyed that, as a Christ follower. After that he’d just talk to us all for 15 minutes about life and our families. That was the first time many of us were away from home for an extended time so that helped us with that transition.
I wanted to be that kind of coach too. He was also a great coach when it came to the details. He made sure we had everything installed in our heads before we were allowed to touch the field. His big focus was on protecting the quarterback – if we didn’t do that we didn’t play.
He stressed for us to know the plays and protect the quarterback. If we knew the plays we would know what was going to happen before it happened. That was the big difference between the NFL and college. Everyone is good in the NFL – there’s a reason why everyone is there. That’s the best of the best. You need to know what was going to happen. You’d see younger, stronger college guys come in but the older veterans played better because they knew what was going to happen. That was big to me and something I modeled my coaching after.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh?
After I left Green Bay I played for Omaha in the FXFL – the Fall Experimental Football League. The Steelers had some scouts there and had me fly in. I didn’t actually work out for them. Tomlin, Saxon and Haley met with me and just talked to me for a bit. An hour later they said they were going to sign me. They had another running back who was supposed to come in as well but they ended up cancelling his flight.
They didn’t need to see me work out – they saw me play enough. I practiced that same day and took reps with the second team and even a few with the first team. I think that was right after LeGarette Blount had walked off the team.
Did anyone take you under their wing at all?
Le’Veon Bell helped – Ben Tate too. We talked a lot. Howard Jones was my roommate and he knew the ropes and taught me what he learned about how things were there. My locker was a couple away from Pouncey’s too. We’d often be the last couple of guys left in the locker room so we’d talk a lot – he’d answer questions for me.
Any practice memories or experiences stand out?
James Harrison – he was different. He wasn’t the tallest guy – he was just so tough – thick and strong. One day he just thudded me in practice and that was an eye-opener. We weren’t allowed to really hit each other in practice but he got me good. At the time he was the best pass rusher in the NFL – he was for real.
Timmons – he was real good too.
Any fun memories stand out?
It’s the locker room comradery you miss most. AB – I remember when he was late for a meeting or something – I don’t remember if he didn’t show up or what happened exactly. Tomlin was mad and some of the players were too. They were frustrated and felt like Tomlin should maybe have done more, but Tomlin addressed it with the team and told them he fined AB.
I liked AB though – he helped a lot of us out and talked a lot to me about things. When I was on the scout team I would have to mirror him. He was the best receiver in the NFL – we’d do walk-throughs and he’d be running. In practice I would watch him and would be asked to play defense a bit – he was just so swift.
When we practiced a lot of guys would go 90% – but AB felt like he was going 150% compared to everybody else. It was crazy – every day he’d wear shoulder pads and go at full speed when others weren’t.
Was that frustrating or a positive thing for the players?
Oh they loved it. They loved that he worked so hard every day – they appreciated the way he went about it and pushed others.
I think that’s why Tomlin let certain things slide at times. I mean, it didn’t happen a lot when I was there anyway. Maybe a couple of times. There were other guys that were late more than he was, they just weren’t as well-known. But you watched him every day in practice – he worked harder than everyone. You could see why he was the best receiver in the NFL.
You played for a number of teams and leagues over your seven-year career. How do you manage that logistically and mentally?
You just have to stay focused and ready. It’s your dream – but you understand it’s very “Here one day, gone the next.” You have to find your niche.
I got so tired of flying to different teams for workouts that I started getting nauseous. I was on flights all the time. But you wanted to make the team and make a good impression.
What did Pittsburgh tell you after you weren’t brought back?
Pittsburgh was different – they didn’t release me. Just after the season my agent talked to them and they told him that they weren’t ready to re-sign me for the following season yet. They said they may sign me later and called and inquired about me a couple of times. I was working hard still and staying in shape – I just had the mindset that I wasn’t going to wait around and just hope they signed me. I didn’t dwell on it. I went to the FXFL again in New York then was signed with the Colts. I knew I’d be back on a team, it just took time.
What advice would you give young running backs today knowing how the running backs market is in the NFL?
I’d say to stay hungry. Some guys do well their first year then you see a dip in their play after a year or two. They lose some of that hunger. Teams bring in guys every year to kick your ass to the curb. Teams want you to do well for your first few years while you’re on your rookie contract then try to replace you with another guy on their rookie contract so they can start the cycle over again. It keeps happening.
You have to stay hungry and healthy to get to that second contract. Work out properly to avoid injuries and train and train to take care of your body. You have to stay healthy to get paid.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
