First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your NFL days?
I got a job doing maintenance work. After football I’ve had issues with bipolar depression – that all really began after football.
Have you gotten support?
People have helped me, yeah. Playing football kept me busy – kept me focused so it didn’t really affect me as much until after I stopped playing. School was the same way – it kept me focused I guess so it didn’t really affect me until after I was done playing.
What brought you to the Steelers in 1987? Did you get any grief from striking players?
They brought me in before the strike – they liked me I guess during the draft and showed some interest then. When I got there they gave me a lot of encouragement – Reggie Collier was a big help then. He was one of the guys that really helped encourage me.
None of the veterans had bad things to say to me. They were helpful when they could be.
Any moments stand out most to you?
Not really. It was a good time but it was also a business. None of the memories really stand out. There were good moments just being together but a lot of the players liked to go out and party and that wasn’t who I was. I liked to stay home – so I didn’t get to know many of the players then.
It did get depressing when we were losing – we didn’t play well at first.
Did coming from a smaller school like Fayetteville State make it harder for you to adjust to the NFL?
Not really. It was harder maybe to learn the game but we practiced every day in college – sometimes at night. I was ready for it. So it was much harder in school really.
What kind of receiver were you – what did you add to the receiver room with guys like Hairston, Anderson and Clark on the team?
I was good with the ball in my hands – running the ball. I was also good at keeping everyone’s spirits up. It was frustrating not getting many chances but you catch on.
Tom Moore was helpful – he showed me some of the techniques I needed to gain leverage and get off the line of scrimmage. Chuck Noll helped too- he talked to me about watching film and making sure I stayed out of trouble.
Any last thoughts or memories?
Not really. There were a lot of positives – I got to play for the Steelers. But it was frustrating at times because I just didn’t get many chances.
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