First off can you share what you’ve been up to since your playing career?
Once I was done playing I went and played for a year in Canada – then I went into marketing and did a bit of marketing for athletes like Melvin Gordon.
I did that for a short while then went into real estate and did that full-time. I did that for a while then went to work as a sales rep for a tea company – that’s what I’m doing now.
Did your playing career help you after in your new line of work, post-football?
Most definitely. You still have that spirit and work ethic in everything you do. When you’re playing ball you’re trying to be great – you put that all into your job. The same thing translates into the workforce.
The in-between – that is different. You don’t think about life after football while you are playing. It was a struggle for me after football like it is for most people. You’re determined to play forever and don’t think about the reality afterwards.
I’ve spoken to a number of guys about that. Many have said if you are thinking of a Plan B you’re not 100% dedicated to playing. What are your thoughts on that?
You want to focus on your main thing for sure, but you should have a backup plan. If, say, you’re look at something like real estate, you can always learn it while you’re playing and have someone else run things for you until you transition into it. Sometimes you think football is everything and lasts forever, then reality hits. I think you should have at least some thoughts on another career.
Stepping back – how did you end up in Pittsburgh as a rookie?
Once the draft was over – I didn’t get any calls. I had a good buddy who was an agent and he sent me the emails of every GM and offensive coordinator in the NFL. I had an agent, but I decided not to wait and typed and sent them all an email with background information on me and highlights. I didn’t want to wait for my agent.
Well, boom! The next day Dan Rooney called and said he saw my email and wanted me to come in for a workout. I was like “Oh shoot!” I ended up going.
But before that I had a tryout with New England. They brought me and 13 or so other receivers in to their rookie camp as tryout players. By the end of those three days I was the only receiver left! I thought they were going to sign me right there. They brought me in and said I had an amazing camp but they had no room on the roster for me. They told me I’d be the first guy they called if someone got hurt.
Well, the Pittsburgh tryout was after that. I went home after the Pittsburgh tryout, back to Wisconsin. I was there for a couple of weeks when Pittsburgh called and said they wanted to sign me. They wanted me to fly in that day. I thought I’d have a day to get ready, but no!
Well, I took the flight and had a layover in Chicago. When I got to Chicago my agent called and told me New England called and wanted to sign me!
Do you think Pittsburgh knew and wanted to get out in front of them?
Man, I don’t know to be honest. But I thought, Pittsburgh called first so I should sign with them. My agent told me New England would pay for the flight from Chicago to New England. I thought New England may have been a better fit since they love small receivers like Edelman and Amendola! But I stayed with Pittsburgh since they called first.
I loved it there. Tomlin and my teammates were all cool. They loved my last name – it helped me stand out! They had some fun joking around about it with me.
Were there guys who helped take you under their wing when you got there?
I got there after camp started so I was really catching up. After practice guys kind of went their separate ways, but it was all good.
It was a team atmosphere there though. The crowds were ridiculous – the fans loved their team, win or lose. Tomlin – the way he coached – it helped the team have a great comradery. Guys loved the environment there. He was down to earth – you could talk to him about anything. He would joke around and was super-positive. But he held guys accountable which I really liked. You felt even as a rookie like you were part of things there.
Any fun/poignant moments stand out?
Oh one funny one. Martavis Bryant woke up late and was late to meetings. They had all of those cameras outside of the building. Well, when he got to the meeting Coach Haley put film up for everyone to watch of Martavis with his shades on, riding his hoverboard to practice like he didn’t have a care in the world. You’d have thought he’d be running to the meeting knowing he was late!
We were all laughing watching the video – Haley even had a laser pointer showing Martavis as he got to the building! We were all laughing – but yeah, there was a message there too!
I know you had some good returns in preseason. What did the team say to you when they let you go at the end of camp?
You know what’s coming when they ask to meet with you and tell you to bring your playbook! They said I did a great job. I knew it was coming though – the roster was deep and I was more of a return man. They had Antonio Brown as a main return guy. They were trying to get him off of return duty and drafted Dri Archer the year before. So between those two guys, they felt they had their return guys. It just made sense that they let me go.
Looking back, any thoughts on that experience there?
It was just great being part of such an historic organization. That was my dad’s favorite team. Just being able to put on the jersey and play in games – that was special. I gave it all I had. It didn’t work out but that’s fine. I think everything happens for a reason. I’m still close with many of those guys like Martavis and AB to this day. Those friendships are super-dope.