First, can you let us know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time playing football?
Well, I went back to NC State and got my Masters in Agriculture. I grew up on a farm – that was always a passion for me. I worked for an agriculture company, got married and had two kids.
I expanded my family, got into some real estate as well. Those were my biggest things!
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult?
Any time you pour your heart and soul into something, it’s hard when the show is over. It can be tough. I could have gotten into coaching right after Pittsburgh, but I felt like if I wasn’t able to play I’d rather follow my passion of getting into agriculture. It’s not easy being a coach – all that travel. The lifestyle and all that goes into that is hard.
For a few years after I was done I’d wake up at time feeling like I wanted to give it another try. I’d often dream I was still playing. But you just need to fill that hole with other passions.
What made you decide to sign with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent?
I wanted to be redshirted as a freshman – NC State tried to get the NCAA to allow it but they said no. I needed another year.
When that didn’t happen, my agent and I looked at teams that would be a good fit. Pittsburgh was one of the few teams that didn’t use an H-back – they used a true tight end. This was before the days when most teams used four-to-five wide receivers. I felt like they were the right fit for me.
They drafted a tight end too but he didn’t really work out for them. Truthfully, if I had a few less breaks I wouldn’t have played and if I had a few more breaks I’d have played maybe three or four years. I was big but I wasn’t fast – I was a 4.8 guy. I was blessed to be able to play – it was honestly about what I expected.
What were the breaks?
Well, it was a 46 man roster and no practice squad. If they had practice squads then I think I would have made the squad the following year and had a chance to develop more. My talent level just wasn’t the same as some of those guys. But I was also only 21 – the youngest guy on the roster. If I was redshirted I would have had another year to develop. I needed another year to grow and mature.
Did anyone take you under their wing at all?
I had some friends there but not a mentor or anything of that sort. I played during the strike then stayed on after, which wasn’t a big deal since some big names crossed the line and played.
I think I played as far as my talent could take me, to be honest. And at 21, I just wasn’t able to absorb what it meant playing for a team like the Steelers, who had won four Super Bowls. I look back and remember Tony Dungy and Tom Moore. Tom felt like an old man to me then – and that was ’87. I watched the Super Bowl and there he was on the sidelines for the Chiefs!
I was friends with Merril Hoge – we were rookies together. Just looking back on the success guys like Merril and Tony Dungy had – it’s pretty cool.
Any fun memories stand out most to you?
Bubby Brister was the backup then – he was young and a wild buck. He’d drag us all out at times to places I had never seen before!
I remember going to the first-ever Arena Football championship. But there wasn’t a ton of social interaction then – we were all fighting for jobs. I was just good enough to play but not the best by any means. I could get the best of guys in the blocking game and as a receiver, but they could all get the best of me too. It was the first time that I never dominated the guys around me.
What did they tell you after that first season?
I left Pittsburgh when I was 22 years old. They just told me they appreciated what I did for the team but that they were going in a different direction. The things they tell everyone. I got the knock on the door at six am – just like you see on TV – telling me to bring my playbook and I met with Dick Haley.
It was a great experience, and it’s cool to be able to say I was a Steeler. Even if it feels like a lifetime ago.
In fact. my wife gets a kick when people know I played for the Steelers and make a big deal out of it. She likes to poke fun of me that I still have one fan! When I called you back, she was waving her hands like fan making fun of me even then and told me “I still got it!”
Any thoughts on the way the game has changed today?
The game has changed a lot. I tell people I wouldn’t want to be a defensive player today. You have to hit guys perfectly. The difference between a penalty and a perfect hit is two inches! At the speed of the game, it’s ridiculous.
I’m all for player safety but you can’t touch players now. Back then the best receivers were the ones willing to take a hit – you had guys like Donnie Shell flying around taking guys’ heads off. I’m all for player safety, but the receivers today aren’t the same. They aren’t as tough. They don’t have to be.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
