It made for quite a story back in May when Dolphins defensive end Terrence Fede became the first-ever NFL draft pick from Marist College. Since the start of training camp, Fede has been showing he deserved that distinction.
Fede has attracted a lot of attention over the past couple of weeks, starting with a strong performance in the team scrimmage at Sun Life Stadium and following that up with strong practices and an impressive preseason debut last Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
The South Florida media certainly has noticed Fede, and not just because of where he went to school.
“I’m just taking it one step at a time,” Fede. “In the beginning for me, it was kind of slow. I didn’t really know what I was doing. The pace of the game was very fast. The playbook was very complex, but as the days have been going on, I’ve been catching up, spending extra little time with the older guys and my coach, going through the playbook and going through my technique work. It’s all coming together now.”
Coming from Marist and the Pioneer League, where he says he could get by strictly on physical ability, learning the NFL game has been a challenge for Fede.
His coaches will tell you that Fede is raw, but there’s no questioning the natural ability or his work ethic.
All of that was on display when Fede played 41 snaps against Atlanta, the most of any Dolphins defensive player, and finished with two tackles, including one for a 4-yard loss in the fourth quarter.
“He never stopped playing,” Head Coach Joe Philbin said. “He kept going until the whistle. It wasn’t always textbook, it wasn’t necessarily always pretty or the exact right technique, but the guy kept coming. He may have played as much as anybody on our team and he just kept coming. Again, that’s a good sign, that’s a good start.”
