He was named a starter at linebacker midway through his freshman season, and was a part of the 1977 team that was awarded the National Black Championship by the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper.
[3] On September 8, he was re-signed after linebacker Mike Hegman fractured his arm in the season opener against the Washington Redskins.
On August 27, 1984, he was traded to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a sixth round draft choice (#151-Stan Gelbaugh).
In 1985, the team changed to a 3-4 defense and although he was assigned the role of nickel linebacker, he eventually started 9 games after Michael Cofer was lost for the year and posted career-highs with 90 tackles (77 solo) and 4 sacks.
The next year, he missed 5 games with an ankle injury (4 weeks spent on the injured reserve list).