ODUSports.com recently caught up with former Monarch and current Buffalo Bills offensive lineman, D.J. Morrell. Morrell spent the 2014 season on the Bills' practice squad and following the season signed a future's deal with the club.
Q: What was it like spending the 2015 season on the Bills’ practice squad?
A: I loved it. Buffalo is a blue-collar city, it was great. My agent told me it is really rare to have a guy on the practice squad for 17 weeks. I was playing every position on the offensive line, just working at it and showing the coaches what I can do. I was mostly at guard but took snaps at center and tackle as well.
Q: What is a normal Wednesday (first practice day of the week) like for you during the season?
A: I get to the complex about 7-7:15 a.m. and have a team meeting at 8 a.m. After that we had position meetings all morning and then a walk through at 11:30 a.m. and then have lunch. We had practice after that for about hour and a half to two hours. For the guys that weren’t playing we had to get four workouts in by Friday so after practice we did a workout then had dinner and more position meetings.
Q: Talk about being in training camp with the St. Louis Rams and what that was like?
A: I’m no longer going against guys that are my age or younger but guys who are older and trying to make a living for their wives and families. Being around the older guys is a different experience, it’s a business.
Q: What was the process like following training camp with St. Louis and getting picked up by Buffalo?
A: I got released and came back home and started training right away. My agents are great guys and they got in touch with Buffalo and they saw my film and liked what I was doing, and a week later I got picked up. It’s definitely a business and no one said it was going to be easy, I just went to Buffalo and showed them what I can do.
Q: Since you were on the practice squad what was game day like for you?
A: I didn’t travel. I went to all home games; I could be on the sidelines or up in the box.
Q: Buffalo had a ton of snow this winter, how were you and the team able to deal with that?
A: We had about 9-10 feet of snow in a week my truck was covered. We didn’t practice that week. I’m used to snow being from Connecticut but that was crazy. The guys that hadn’t seen snow before were like, where am I?
Q: What have you been doing this off-season?
A: I’ve just been back home in Connecticut training, spending time with my brother and family and trying to support them and just trying to work hard.
Q: What did you learn at ODU that you have taken with you to the NFL?
A: Hard work pays off. Especially the offensive line, what we did here was very special. Coming back here you can’t break that bond that we had as a unit.
Q: You were coached at ODU by Bill Dee, what did you learn from him?
A: He pushed me and got everything out of us that he could. He was like a father figure. I still talk to him about once or twice a week. If I need someone to talk he’s there. He’s more than a coach to me right now he is like a father figure.