First, can you let us know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
Well I’m retired now. I’m laid back due to some disabilities now but making it work.
I work a lot with disabled kids- less now due to my health but I was doing that for 15 years. I was very involved for a while in helping disabled kids – I came from a big family and we had some family members with special needs so that was part of why I got involved.
My mom – she died of kidney and heart failure so I stayed involved in those charities fort a while too. Now, I’m mostly sitting on boards and collaborating when I can with them.
Were you surprised Houston drafted you in ’87?
I was – they had Ernest Givens and Drew Hill already – that was one of the best receiver combos in the NFL already. I don’t think they planned to draft a wide receiver but I guess they went with the best player they had on the board. I didn’t think they needed a receiver but they were going with a more wide open offense then – they were one of the first teams to go with the run and shoot.
Any of those guys help mentor you when you got there?
Drew and Ernest were horrible! They didn’t give a hoot about rookies then. But over time I earned their respect. Drew and I became tight – we both liked to go out and party a lot. Ernest was more conservative – he was more laid back and didn’t like to go out as much. And then of course you had Curtis Duncan who was all church and business. That was not Drew and my cup of tea! But we all blended together well.
How was that start for you at first – slow going?
Me and Warren butted heads for a while. He wanted something different from me. Different work habits. He wanted me to be there at the right place and the right time all of the time. My mind just wasn’t where his was at first.
Drew taught me lessons on how to be more professional – not just off the field but on the field. If Warren wanted me to run six-yard dig, it meant six yards – not five or seven. If I was supposed to make a cut at the 20, do it at the 20, not the 18 or 19. Warren and I went at it every day for a while but we developed over time. Drew and Warren taught me right from wrong – like listening to your mother’s lessons. You fight it at first. I was too loosy-goosy at first and thought I could get away on just talent.
Do you remember the fist Steelers-Oilers rivalry games?
Delton Hall was so physical. He played at Clemson and I was an N.C. State guy – we played each there since we were in high school. Those days guys could be physical with receivers and lay hands on them. The Steelers had Carnell Lake, D.J. Johnson, Delton and of course Rod Woodson. They don’t make guys like that today – they were all big, physical defensive backs., I knew when they drafted Delton they got the perfect guy for that system – he was blue collar – he’d bite and scratch for a win.
Any of those guys you like to play against most?
It was very funny – they’d rotate guys against me and try to fit size with size. The other guys we had were smaller so they tried to match me with size. Big defensive backs often don’t like to cover those smaller guys – they’re too quick and get away from them.
Woodson was surprisingly the guy I liked to play against most. He would cheat – he’d sit on routes and I knew at some point I’d get behind him. But he was such a fantastic player.
They all trash-talked. We didn’t have a problem talking about mommy and daddy! It went deep! But in the offseason we’d hang out together and stay out late and play cards and just reminisce about the season.
How did you match up against those guys?
We were so much more slender than they were. I was 6’4 but I was slender. Johnson was 210, Woodson was 230, Delton was 235…they tried to intimidate you with their size and physicality.
Any fun moments you can share?
Ini there offseason Delton and I would meet up and cubs and show off our new cars we got that year. It would be like auto show – we’d showcase our cars and do a fashion show. They used to make fun of what I wore. I used to wear leather clothes a lot – leather jacket and no shirt, flashing my jewelry! When I got on the plane the players wanted to see what I was wearing. I’d wear bright colors, fur coats…they made fun of me a lot for that!
And I always wanted to know about the Steelers hair! Rod and Johnson – they had that short curly hair – those jheri curls with gel in it I think. They had that smooth thing going – we had our hair in military cuts! We used to make fun of them – they’;d come out looking like pretty boys but then play like they were in the WWE.
Any on-field moments that stand out most?
The year we won the divisions when Warren got hurt – he split open his finger and had a compound fracture. Cody Carlson took over and I’ll never forget, against the Steelers, they called a post and we caught Rod sitting on a route and I caught a touchdown pass to help seal the win.
Of course Rod had his own plays. One time I remember he sat in a route for Ernest and intercepted a pass for a touchdown too. It was a game where we threw for a lot of yards but they were always so good in the red zone.
Any thoughts on the absence of a rivalry today between the teams?
When the Oilers went to Nashville the mystique left. They tried to keep it up when they moved to Tennessee – they have player reunions and such and I appreciate it, but it’s not the same. When they moved us out of the division with Pittsburgh and Cleveland – and you can’t forget Cincinnati too – it all changed. The memories are there but we feel like Houston was slighted with the move. Bud would never have allowed that if he were alive.