First, how is the offseason going so far and what are you working on as you get ready for the next season?
I feel like thing are going really well. I’m just trying to get a head start for next season – I feel like I had my offseason already. I’m just working out and getting my body right. My emphasis this year is to work on my route-running and getting a head start om practicing NFL routes. I’m confident in my ability to catch the ball I just need the repetition.
How hard is it going from team to team and being released and picked up like you experienced?
It’s not easy – it’s kind of hard. At some point it takes it’s toll on your mentally and you can question your ability. But my dad, family and agents all got it into me that I’m capable of playing at this level. I just had some bad breaks. That guy in Arizona was cut six times and had a breakthrough season. When the opportunity comes you just have to have fun with it and run with it.
It’s a crowded running back room. How do you break from the pack, so to speak?
I just have to do what I always do. You have to make something happen. You can’t be another guy. You get few opportunities – maybe six plays a fay to show what you can do. You have to make something happen when you get those chances.
What makes you a good back and capable of doing so? Did the coaches give you some idea of what to work on?
I’m really balanced as a runner. I’m a bigger guy but I have breakaway speed from defensive backs and can break tackles. And I finish runs.
I didn’t have an exit interview but I was right across the hall from Coach Tomlin at Pitt and had a sense of what he was looking for from me when he talked with Narduzzi about me and Quadree. I know I need to continue to improve as a pass blocker and show I’m reliable in the passing game.
How specifically are you working on your receiving skills?
I’m back home in Youngstown, Ohio and I’m working with a quarterback there from Youngstown State – running routes and catching passes. I’ve been on multiple teams so I have a number of routes I’ve learned and can work on. Just getting the ball on my hands is enough so I don’t go into OTAs without catching some passes.
Anyone help men tor you as a new guy to the NFL?
James Conner is my guy – he’s always been my guy. From the day I walked into Pitt he showed me how to do things and now with the Steelers. He told me the playbook was easy to understand and I’d catch on quick. He was a leader for me – right there since day one.
You got some practice squad action last year – what was that like for you and what did they ask you to do?
It’s actually fun in a way – and I’m helping to contribute to the team’s success – helping the team win. Each week I’d mimic the running back we were playing against that week. When we played Indianapolis, I mimicked the way Mack ran. He was one of the slowest, most patient backs to hit the holes we played all season they told me – like LeVeon Bell – so I gave them that look. It was very different from my style but you do it. Then the next week I mimicked Todd Gurley who is a downfield runner – a power back. It was fun and different and you pick some things up that you can add to your game. And it’s fun – it gives me a chance to contribute to the team.
Does it mess with your own running style after a while – like a baseball player who messes up his swing in the home run derby?
It doesn’t affect me no. It’s just for two days, and I’ve been running with a football in my hands for years. It adds some different aspects to my game is all.
Special teams is also a big part of how you make the team – what is your experience there?
Coach Powell at Pitt was my running back coach and the team’s special teams coordinator. He had all of the running backs play special teams because he trusted us the most. I played just about every special teams role there – on punt and kick returns – from the front wall to the back on kick returns. I’ve played at every position so that’s big for me.
How did the team tailor the offense for the variety of backs that played last year? Did they?
I wasn’t there for a lot of the season, but the mindset was, don’t go below the standard. Continue to hit the standard of the guys that were there before. Don’t be a guy. Be the guy. That’s what the coaches preached all the time.
They knew what each of us could do best too. So they would try to change up plays based on what guys were good at. Some guys were downhill runners and some were good at catching the ball, so they did call and use certain plays depending on who was in there.
As a local guy, is it more pressure or easier to step into a local team and play? More or less distractions?
It’s more fun and relaxing. It’s not a new environment – I’ve been here for the past four years. Even when I worked out for the Steelers, it was on the same field I played on. It’s not new – everything is the same. I don’t have to find where the hotels and food courts are like if I was in Wisconsin, so there are less things on my plate to worry about. That way I can focus more on football.
Lastly, what should fans know about you that’s not football-related?
Just that I’m a smart guy who likes to keep his head down. I love to play the game and I show up to work. I may joke around with the guys some but you get my best on and off the field.
I also have a sister who has Autism, so I’m working on doing something with that – a foundation. That way she can have more friends and things to do. She didn’t have many friends growing up like I did. When you play football you have a group around you. But she never had a lot of friends. I’d like to start something so she and people like her can find their own group of friends and things to do. People don’t realize it but people with Autism love to have fun – they love music and love to play. So I want to help do something with that.
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