First, can you let me know what’s next for you now in your football career?

Well, I just signed a three-year contract with the new Alliance Football League – I signed with the Birmingham Iron. That was the team I was assigned to based on the last team I played for – the Cleveland Browns.

I started camp in January – the season starts after the Super Bowl.

Why the new league – and how is it different from the NFL?

Well as I’m understanding the whole league is predicated on fan interaction and the fan experience. We have incentives in our contracts to do stuff in the community and fans – our incentives are based off of that.  It’s a neat experience – it gives us more involvement with fans.

Is this for on the field fan interaction as well?

You know, I’m not sure, That’s a good question.

It’s exciting and it’s going to be fun. Almost all the guys in the league – all the rosters – they’re made up of mostly of former NFL guys. It’s going to be a highly competitive league. And it’s the first really competitive development league for the NFL.  It has the chance to be very successful. Before, people only had a chance to play in thew CFL, or the Arena Football League. This is a true developmental league.  Their goal is to get us back into the NFL. If you signed a contract in the CFL, you’re stuck. You can’t break that contract. Here, before or after our season starts, we can get signed by an NFL team and the contract isn’t an issue. They really want to to help us get back to the NFL.

Stepping back – how did you find yourself in Pittsburgh?

My first team was the Rams – I signed with them as an undrafted free agent. I made it to the final cut then was signed on to their practice squad. That was short-lived though. They soon parted ways with me. That was my first experience in the NFL. I went back to Florida and then got a call from the Steelers in December. I worked out for them and was signed to a futures contract.

You were signed and released numerous times over your career and always bounced back. How hard was that for you – how did you deal with it, and do you think fans understand that part of the game players go through?

Well, I can take that backwards and start with – No! Not at all! Not even close. You can’t fault the fans, but the average fans know the Antonio Browns and Big Bens – they know the big money guys, But as a whole, they have no idea about the guys at the lower end of the roster. They may know those top 15 guaranteed money guys, but they have no idea about the sacrifice players make – how much even the highest paid guys work.

I went back and forth over that year-and-a-half in Pittsburgh. I was released four-to-five times at least. Growing up you want to be a football player, but when you get there you don’t know about the whole  business side. it was eye-opening.

I enjoyed the organization. I got hurt though my third preseason game my second year in Pittsburgh, against the Saints. They put me on the practice squad and I went back and forth again. The coaches would come up to me and tell me to be ready to play, but then it doesn’t happen. It can be frustrating – you’re working hard to get your chance but it doesn’t happen. But I just had a kid and I had a wife – so that kept me sane.

You’ve seen some of the stories on the distractions of this current Steelers team. How did the team deal with distractions when you were there?

I was with the Steelers for a year-and-a-half, and as a whole, we all handled things like grown men. We went to work with workmen attitudes – we didn’t bring distractions into the locker room.

I heard about AB – but he’s also the hardest working guy you knew on the team. That’s how the team is – it minimizes that stuff when it does happen. It’s not like the media says – it’s their job to blow things up and out of proportion. But that’s not how it is in the locker room. We didn’t even think about a lot of the stuff the media talked about. You don’t usually talk about any of that stuff – when things happen you just keep on going. It’s about the next guy and the next game. That’s the attitude.

Did anyone help mentor you when you got to Pittsburgh?

The funny thing is, that was the year they drafted Artie Burns and Sean Davis. Those guys were supposed to start right away. Cockrell was new too – we had a lot of younger guys like that. The only vets were Willie Gay, who was a really funny guy, and Mike Mitchell. Mitchell was the guy I spoke to most for help. He was a super guy and helped me a lot. Mostly on things about the playbook and business stuff.

But from the coaches I didn’t get that much. They were pretty focused on getting Burns and Davis ready.

How was Carnell Lake as a coach?

The cool thing about Lake – his career speaks for him. You look at his career – he was a Steelers guy most of his career – everything he said was validated because he played the game at such a high level. He played 12-13 years – most for the Steelers. When he spoke, you listened because of that. He was relatable in that aspect. He’d done it.

He allowed us to make plays and take calculated risks. A lot of coaches who never played the game coached by the book. But we studied film and he’d let us jump into it within the scheme. He also had a physical mindset – he knew the Steelers way.

What did they tell you when they released you your second season there?

Well when you’re released – each time you go up to the offices and meet with the GM. A scout takes you up and they give you the reasons why they release you. Most of the conversation is business-related – and they tell you good luck.

Any fun memories before I let you go?

When I was on the practice squad, we had to get to the locker room earlier than the other guys to get a chance to lift. I was a hard hat guy – I’d get there at 6:30.

Well, one week we played Kansas City in an away game. We got back late, but James Harrison, instead of sleeping, he went and got acupuncture done. At 3 am. Then he went to the facility at 5 am and lifted. That’s how he was.

It was cool, seeing a Hall of Fame kind of guy – at 40 years old – working harder than other guys. It was a sight to see.

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