First, what’s been the offseason plan for you so far?
I’ve been training consistently since the Hub last year – that was the last big event I did. I wake up at four a.m. every day and train from 4:45 to 7:30 or so every day except weekends. I have a life insurance business during the day.
How did you get involved with the USFL? Were you surprised the Maulers drafted you?
My agent told me about the USFL in November. The details slowly rolled out and I submitted my name and they told me I qualified fore the draft. The rest is history.
I wasn’t surprised much to be drafted by the Maulers. I know the defensive coordinator from Vanderbilt – he was the quality control guy then. I didn’t talk to him until before the draft and he told me then they’d talk a look at me – that he remembered me from Vanderbilt. I prayed a lot during the process and actually thought Philadelphia would draft me since I knew their head coach and we talked for a while. With no combine – I think the familiarity with me would have helped there.
Is it frustrating being a local kid playing for a local team but playing in Birmingham?
Not really. My ultimate goal is still the NFL regardless of where I play. I want to ball out for a year here and get another opportunity to play in the NFL. It doesn’t matter where I play. What matters is my teammates and winning championships. I don’t take if we play in Birmingham, Pittsburgh or Alaska!
Did they speak to you at all yet about what your role will be? Any preferences
No discussions yet. Coach Horton has kept things under wraps so far which I appreciate. It lets is focus on working on out skills and to prepare for the season.
I can play so many positions – it really doesn’t matter to me where I play as long as I get opportunities to make plays.
Know any guys on the team?
I know Tyson Graham – not personally but we have a mutual friend and played in the Spring League. Terrell Bonds is a good friend – we played together. And I know De’Veon Smith – the running back as well.
We don’t have a group chat or anything yet – the coach has one for all of us but he just uses that to keep us updated on things.
You documented your journey up to this point in a Youtube series – “Trust the Seed”. What was behind the idea to do so?
It started in 2015. My grandma passed away in 2011 and in 2015 I went to visit her grave before my Sophomore year. I’m not sure why but my spirit led me to record the video of my visit. I did it for myself to look at during camp – just to have something for myself as a reminder – to look back on.
After that, when I got hurt, I started documenting my journey back. It helped me get my frustrations out. Then I promised myself I would get to the NFL. God puts us though trials to help us grow and form a better relationship with Him. I kept recording videos and thought I would release them when I got to the NFL for others to use as inspiration.
I thought about that though and thought it would be even more powerful to release them now – more impactful for others to see me go through those trials while they were happening. I thought – wouldn’t it be cool to have seen a video of Michal Jordan the day he was cut from his high school team. It’s easier to associate with someone when they are in the midst of those trials rather than when they got to the top. I thought showing those videos now would mean more to those that watched them. I want to help encourage people no matter what their journey is.
You mentioned before you had the opportunity to go to Steelers camp for a tryout – how did that go and what did you take away from that?
It was a great experience – a blessing. I’m thankful to the Steelers for the opportunity to go to camp. Coach Austin showed me a lot – I formed a good relationship with him.
What did he show you?
I was there a short time but he helped me with my confidence. To play faster. To work on the little things that helped me to do that. I took that and it allowed me to push myself further.
If you could work on one aspect of your game knowing it would make the biggest impact on your ability to get to the NFL, what would that be?
Probably to just be willing to take more calculated risks. You can overthink things sometimes instead of just trusting it. When I do that I make more plays. If I can do that three or four more times a game I think I’ll be where I need t be. Just trusting myself. I have a high football IQ and I’m good at tackling. I just have to trust myself and go for it more.
Lastly, what should fans know about you that has nothing to do with football?
That’s a great question. I’m a businessman. Through the process of trying to get into the NFL I learned other skills – financial literacy and how to network and communicate effectively. I had to think beyond what I had hoped my trajectory was going to be.
There’s a great quote by Kobe Bryant where he talked about being so obsessed with basketball that he made everything else he did relate to it. I see football the same way. Selling life insurance is the same way. The same skills I learned about communicating and working with other people relate to football and business.
My communication skills are phenomenal now. I learned more how to talk and help people and negotiate. That will serve me longer outside of football than in football. Our lives are much longer outside of sports than they are playing them. I’m blessed to have had people teach me how to be a businessman.