First, let me know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL?
Well, I’m working with a home health company – doing hospice and home health care in Waco. I got into that after working at another job after I was done with football. I was doing shift work for Mars and that was working days and nights. I had just gotten married the year before that – my last season in Pittsburgh – and my wife was pregnant. So I knew I needed steady work. The shift work was hard – it didn’t let me be the dad I wanted to be.
So my mother-in-law was good friends with the owner of this business and they needed someone in this region who had my skillset. So it was a good fit.
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult for you?
I wouldn’t say it was necessarily difficult. It was difficult I guess not being around the locker room and that team environment – with guys from all over the U.S. Football was the common denominator for all of us and it was good being around a lot of people from different backgrounds. That’s the difficult part you miss.
But my wife and I always had a long-distance relationship. So having more time at home made it easier. It took me a month or two of interviewing before finally landing something, but that’s just life.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh in 2011 after starting off with the Rams?
It was by the grace of God, honestly. I was released by St. Louis after being on their practice squad. I was doing a futures buyout, I think they called it, and was scheduled to work out for the Jets the weekend before I visited Pittsburgh. But there was a bad snowstorm and I couldn’t fly out to New York, so the next weekend I had a visit scheduled with Pittsburgh so flew out there and worked out for them. They said they wanted to offer me a contract after the workout, and that was that. It was a star-studded group then – they still had Troy Polamalu, Woodley… I thought it was an awesome place to be and wanted to be around those guys.
Anything specific they were intrigued by with you?
Nothing in particular I don’t think. I could catch well and block and knew how to run routes, so having all of those skills helped me. It wasn’t anything specific – just what they asked for from their tight ends then. We were right there with the quarterbacks then in having to know everything about the offense since we did so many things – from tight end to fullback. We had to know blocking assignments, routes – all of it. You never knew what position they’d tell us to be in. I was just able to do what they asked us to do.
Anyone help show you the ropes as a young guy and new player to the organization?
Not necessarily. There were a lot of older guys then. Most of them were doing their own thing. I was younger at the time and ran around with the guys who were around the same age and position. No one specific really.
Heath was awesome – I guess you can say he was a player from my position who really helped me. It wasn’t anything more than what he did for the other guys. He was just a standup dude. He was there for you if you had any questions.
Was it difficult bouncing around a bit between being on the roster, ending up in San Diego, then back in Pittsburgh again in s short span of time?
I loved what I was doing, and if you love what you do it’s not that difficult at all. I always loved sports so San Diego was just another opportunity for me to play the sport I loved and always dreamed of playing. So that’s just an honest answer.
What brought on those moves – I guess it’s nice enough to feel wanted and be brought back?
I was released from Pittsburgh – they were having issues with their offensive line – they had injuries and needed to bring guys in. And to be honest it was a transitional period for me. I stuck around a bit hoping to be brought back and cleared waivers. San Diego called me up near the end of the season – around week 15. But then Heath gut hurt and tore his ACL. Having just left Pittsburgh and knowing Heath, that hit me hard. It sucked. But lo and behold the Steelers called me back off the San Diego practice squad. When you know the offense as I did, I guess they knew they could plug me in. I ended up playing that final game of the season – it was the one game I got to actually play in. So that was great.
Knowing enough to get called back – yeah, it was great to feel wanted and to get a shot. That part was great.
Any fun memories of your time there?
You know, none specific stand out. We always played ping pong or pool after practice. That was a lot of fun. And we had the talent shows before camp which were fun.
Ever have to do any skits of your own?
I was older by then so I never had to do them. But I remember Weslye Saunders – he came in at the same time I did and he did a really good Mike Tomlin at the talent show!
Any thoughts on the way the game has changed since you played not so long ago?
I love football and always enjoyed watching it evolve. I look at it now – I like it but just think they need to stop tinkering more with it for now. So much is investigated now every game – was there a holding here, a missed call there. People are getting tired of it I think.
It’s more catered to the offense now and scoring points, which I like. But I’m sure some of those guys from the past don’t like that part. You can’t hit guys now – you practically have to lay them down. I’m sure those guys from back in the day hate that.
It’s like the NBA rule changes. Michael Jordan could probably have scored so many more points today even with the changes to help the offenses in the NBA. Some of the older guys don’t like it. But for me, I like where football is at.
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