Interviews with the Rooks

[ih8brady]

Attitude, very bold likes to celebrate brashly after plays.

Bad knees and ACL tears also hurt his stock.

I saw his highlight reel and his taunts(the shh finger, flapping arms) werent diff from JT's celebrations.

 

[ChambersWI]

here are the rest

Travis Daniels

On how long it took to get from his home to the Dolphins Training Facility) – “A total of about seven minutes. I live right off Sheridan, so I am very close to home.â€Â

(On if playing for the Dolphins is a dream come true) – “As a matter of fact it is a dream come true. I have always been a huge Dolphins fan. I remember ever since I was a little kid, my first little football uniform was a Miami Dolphin uniform. Every day after pre-school I used to go put the uniform on and go in the neighborhood and start playing football with some of my friends. I wore it so much that everyone started messing with me about it, but now they are seeing me being able to play for the Miami Dolphins for real, so it all paid off.â€Â

(On who some of his favorite players are) – “Sam Madison, (Patrick) Surtain, (Junior) Seau. A lot of the Dolphins guys are my favorites.â€Â

(On what number was on his jersey as a kid) – “It didn’t have a number. It was just a straight Dolphins jersey. We got it from Toys ‘R Us or something.â€Â

(On what it will be like to play with players he admired and possibly replacing Patrick Surtain) – “It will be great to be out there to play with guys like Sam Madison and Jason Taylor. As far as the Patrick Surtain thing goes, I am just happy to be able to come over here and play in front of my hometown.

(On if he thought he might end up with the Dolphins after Nick Saban was hired) – “When Coach Saban got the job here everybody around LSU figured at least one of the guys would get drafted by Coach Saban. I never knew which one of us it would be, but being that he has such a great knowledge about what we are all about and being able to work with us for so many years, it will be a lot easier to pick one of us as opposed to someone else.â€Â

(On if has visited with Nick Saban since he became the Dolphins head coach) – “No, because right now I still in school at Louisiana State University. I just came down here for the draft, so I haven’t been in town much.â€Â

(On if he will finish his coursework at LSU) – “Yes, I am going to finish school. I have 15 hours left. I am taking 12 of those 15 now and then in the summertime I will finish up my last three hours and graduate. That was one of the things I really wanted to do, be one of the first ones from my family to graduate from college and try to pursue a professional football career. I am just trying to live out that dreamâ€Â

(On his mother’s excitement this morning) – “She was very excited. She is like the No. 1 Dolphin fan out of my whole family. When they called my name on the TV screen, I was in my room and she came in the room and [said], ‘are you playing for the Dolphins?’â€Â

(On if he was watching) – “Yes, I was watching in my room. She was in her room. She is very happy. The phone has been blowing up ever since I got called.â€Â

(On if Corey Webster has called him) – “Yeah, Corey called me. As a matter of fact, Corey called me last night. I spoke to him last night, him and Marcus Spears. They were just telling me, keep your head up, you’ll get picked up on the next day, don’t worry about it. I was just congratulating them on all the success that they had as college athletes and wishing the best in their career.â€Â

(On Nick Saban saying last night that he was interested in Corey Webster) – “Corey is a tremendous athlete. If I was a coach, I would want him on my team as well. Things didn’t work out that way, so we just have to roll on with what we got now.â€Â

(On his mother’s name) – “Spring Grant.â€Â

(On if last night was difficult for him to sleep) – “Not really because I felt like I did everything in my power to get drafted as high as I could get drafted. Maybe if I would have not have done so good at our last pro day I would have had some uncertainties about my ability, then I would have been concerned. But, I felt like I gave it all I got. Now, it was all up to whatever team felt like they wanted to give me a shot.â€Â

(On if he has any brothers and sisters) – “I have an older brother on dad’s side, but from my mom I am an only child.â€Â

(On her happiness about his being home) – “When I was in high school she wanted me to stay close to home to go to college, but I felt like I needed to get away and experience some things on my own. Now, I am able to come back here and spend a lot more time with her than I could while I was at LSU.â€Â

(On if the Dolphins called him before they picked him) – “Yes. Coach Saban called me. He was just telling me that there was a real good chance that they were going to pick me if I was still around today. I was just sitting by the phone patiently waiting as I was doing all day yesterday.â€Â

(On when that conversation took place) – “This morning.â€Â

(On what happened on the last play of the Capital One Bowl game) – “I was covering, (Ed) Hinkle, No. 11, wide receiver for Iowa. He was just taking off on a straight up fly and I see him looking up for the ball, so when I start looking for it, I am looking at the ball like, I don’t think the ball is coming to him. The next thing I know, I think he was No. 86, just streaking down the field by himself. That is just how it happened, just like that.â€Â

(On if Nick Saban blamed him for that) – “No, he didn’t blame me for it. If he did, he never told me about it. We were in a man coverage and one of the guys didn’t get the call, thought we were playing a zone so he kind of dropped him at about twenty yards when he should have kept running with him. That is what left them with one more man than we had.â€Â

(On how difficult it was to get noticed playing alongside Corey Webster) – “It really it isn’t all that tough because whenever you got a guy such as Corey Webster on the other side of you taking so much of the spotlight, hogging up so much attention, you really never have any pressure on you because everybody is watching him wanting to make sure he is doing everything that he needs to do. As the year goes on and the season keeps progressing, you start making more plays, and then you have people noticing you. It was a lot of fun being able to play with a guy like that.â€Â

(On if he thinks he had more balls thrown his way because he played with Webster) – “Yeah, I felt like I got more balls thrown at me, especially our junior season. Whenever you got a guy like Deion Sanders on one side and then you got this other cornerback, who is probably just as good, but you don’t know about him yet, it only makes sense to go after the person that you don’t know as opposed to the Deion Sanders of the defense.â€Â

(On comparing his junior and senior seasons) – “I think I did a lot better my junior season just because of the fact that a lot of teams were testing me and really tying to go after me. Our senior season, there was a lot of games where we didn’t have but maybe two balls thrown at us the whole game and that went on for maybe four games straight. The junior season would be a more productive year, being more active, going against quarterbacks like Eli Manning, throwing the ball at you like eight times a game. The senior season wasn’t like that.â€Â

(On continuing to play for Nick Saban) – “I am loving it. It’s great being able to develop a relationship on the level that me and him have on and off the field. It’s great to be able to come to your hometown and play for your head coach from college.â€Â

(On what he learned from Nick Saban) – “There are so many things. I would have to say the No. 1 thing is to have great character. Whenever you step up in a business venture or whenever you step outside of football, know that you are representing your family, the university, now the Miami Dolphins, and your teammates and everybody around you. Always keep a positive attitude about everything and never give up. That was always one of the biggest things. I think he helped turned all of us from young boys to men.â€Â

(On if he is open to moving to safety) – “I am open to it. As you know, in the 2003 season, I started off playing safety. I am pretty familiar with all the positions on the field. I think I could play all the positions as the position is titled. I am not a cornerback that would go to safety and play safety like a corner. I am going to play like the position is titled. Whatever position the defense needs help with, if they need me to step in there, I’ll go out there and make plays.â€Â

(On what it was like to try to tackle Ronnie Brown) – “Ronnie is a load, he is a real load. He is one of the best running backs we faced. He is the best running back we faced all season and since I have been in college. He just brings so much to the table. He’s a threat all around the board. He can run out of the backfield and catch deep balls on you. He can run up the middle, run over you, shake you, run past you, so a guy like that is hard to account for. It’s great to have him on my team now.â€Â

(On who his agent is) – “Albert Elias out of Dallas, TX. He has a lot of LSU guys – Randall Gay, Jarvis Green, Adrian Mayes, Marcus Randall, Lionel Turner, myself. He represents a very huge group of football players that come from LSU. He does a good job for us.â€Â

(On something he knows about Nick Saban that most people don’t know) – “He’s a good dancer. When we went to the National Championship, we took a boat cruise, the whole team, for one of the festivities that they had going on for us. Coach Saban kind of pulled out his James Brown shoes for us. We didn’t know he had it in him, but he can move a little bit.â€Â

(On who his coach was at South Broward High School) – “Antonio Williams. He is now the head coach for Hallandale High School. This is his first year taking over the head coaching job over there. I think he will do a lot of good things with those guys. He helped me a lot. As a matter of fact he helped me throughout the agent process. Going into your senior season, there are a lot of agents calling you every night bugging you, so I had a lot of them call him. He gave me some of his feedback on some of the guys who I was talking to. Having that secondary support helped me a lot in making the decision that I made.â€Â

(On the biggest adjustment he thinks he will have to make in the NFL) – “Probably the speed I think, being more physical with the guys. These are no longer 18, 19-year-olds. There are some grown men out there. You really have to man up.â€Â

Anthony Alabi

(On starting his college career at the Naval Academy) "At the Naval Academy it was a great place for me. My parents were really strict on education and stuff like that so they figured it would be a good place for me to get started and have a fruitful career with education and get the best of everything. I felt the same way. I liked the education and I liked the people and the whole military process. The football program and I just didn't see the same way. I wanted to take it a little more seriously and make it a bigger part of my life so I decided to go ahead and after the first season go ahead and transfer TCU."

(On if he knew the Dolphins were interested in him) "Well I did know that they were looking because the offensive line coach came and we had a private workout and I knew they were interested, but I didn't know how interested - as many of the other guys don't know with other teams. But it is a great surprise and they are a great team and I'm happy to be a part of it."

(On how tough it was to walk on at TCU) "It was pretty tough. Before I got there I think only one person, Chad Bayer, the linebacker, had gotten a scholarship from being a walk-on and other walk-ons were telling me how impossible it was and it wasn't going to work out. But luckily before I left Coach (Dennis) Franchione suggested I move to offensive line and the first day I went out there I did really well and a week later Coach (Gary) Patterson went ahead and gave me my scholarship. So I thank him for that and everything worked out. It was a weird way that everything worked out, but it worked out for the best."

(On where he is the most comfortable on the line) "The left tackle side. That's where I played all four years at TCU. So I'm pretty comfortable there, although I can play both sides. I did in the All-Star game. I started at right tackle in the (Gridiron Villages Classic) All-Star game."

(On what he played in high school) "I actually didn't start playing offensive line until I got to college. Actually, my second year in college."

(On what he played on defense) "Tackle."

(On what the biggest transition was) "The biggest thing was just changing the whole mentality and learning all the plays and the technique. I think technique with offensive linemen is one of the biggest things, which is why offensive linemen can last so long in the league. What they lack in athletic ability they can make up for in technique and intelligence. And I think that was one of the biggest things going from such a physical position to a more intelligent and technically-sound position."

(On what his time was in the shuttle run) "I think it was 4.60."

(On who the toughest defensive end he came across in college was) "Ardell Duckett was big, strong guy. Larry McSwain out of UAB was kind of a Dwight Freeney-kind of guy. He was really small speed rusher kind of thing and I had just come back off of an injury. So it was kind of tough going against that. I was kind of out of rhythm in that game. That's probably the two toughest guys that I went against."

(On how he would describe himself as a player) "I say that I'm intelligent. I say I'm athletic, long arms, built big. I can put on weight or play at any weight basically that they want me to. I'm very coachable and I think I have a lot of room to grow. I think I have a lot of upside that I can call upon later on."

(On what he needs to improve) "I think everybody can improve. You can always improve on the pass throwing and the run blocking and stuff like that. I think just getting acclimated more to the offensive line position and just getting the essence of what it to be an offensive tackle in the NFL is just some of the basic things that I need to improve on."

(On where he thinks he would be if he was an offensive lineman in high school) "First of all I went to a private high school. I went to a really small private high school that wasn't, Texas 5A football, what people are used to. So I think if I would have had that head start and if I would have started earlier, it would have probably blossomed a little faster right now. I think I'm kind of raw, need to be polished and hopefully I can do that."

(On what the background of his surname, Alabi, is) "My dad is from Nigeria. My mom is from Puerto Rico. My dad's Nigerian so it's a Nigerian name. My name is actually Abayomi Alabi, but being here is America it's Anthony Abayomi Alabi."

(On what the day is like for him) "It's a great day. My dad, he's been looking forward to this for a long time and he's really proud right now and he's on the phone jumping around. The family is really excited. I didn't have anybody over here at the house because I didn't want all of the anticipation and everything, but now that it's all said and done I think it will be great and have everybody over and celebrate. It's a big day for my family and I'm glad to be a part of it."

(On what he is studying in school) "I majored in criminal justice. I got my bachelor's of science in criminal justice and my minor in business and I got through half of my Master's in liberal arts, which I'm probably going to end of finishing and then getting into criminology."

(On how many languages he speaks) "I know English and my mother helped me to understand Spanish and I know a little bit of Nigerian. I'm not fluent by any means in any one of them, but I understand my own share of it."

(On if he wants to get into the FBI after football) "Secret Service. My fiancé right now, she's a criminal investigator down in Dallas and I‚d like to follow that route and probably get into the Secret Service or U.S. Marshals or something like that."

Kevin Vickerson

(On what he thinks he can bring to the Miami Dolphins) – “I am going to try to bring a lot of athletic ability, a lot of tenacity, a lot of toughness playing a lot of gap defense and making plays, running to the balls and making plays.â€Â

(On if he is disappointed he wasn’t drafted earlier) – “[The Dolphins}got a steal, that’s all I can say, a big steal. I am going to prove that I am a big steal. I am going to prove I am worth higher than what I am. I’m happy with everything. That is how it falls sometimes. I’m willing to work and prove myself, just like I have proven myself before.â€Â

(On if he has met Nick Saban) – “He’s tough. He means business. He doesn’t want any b.s. I know that from experience.â€Â

(On if that describes him as well) – “I don’t want to put myself in any situations where I can hurt myself. I just want to help the team, help the organization, and come in and be a big help. I don’t want any distractions.â€Â

(On how he knows from experience what Nick Saban is like) – “From word of ear, people telling me, old coaches, old players that I knew before I got there and the practices that he used to hold and how they go on. I know he’s got a winning attitude and a winning mentality.â€Â

(On where he mostly played in college) – “Every defensive line [position], from the five to the zero.â€Â

(On if he prefers playing the run or the pass) – “Both.â€Â

(On how he will prove he was a steal) ââ“I can just tell you to watch. I can show you better than I can tell you.â€Â

(On why he thinks he dropped to the seventh round) – “I have no idea, have no clue. I don’t know what it is, but right now, I am just happy to be a Dolphin. I can breathe.â€Â

(On if he expects to start next season) – “I am not going to jump the gun and say all that, but I am going to prove myself and help the organization the best way as possible. I got some people down there I can learn a lot from that are ahead of me. I am just going to come down and compete for a job and it is what it is.â€Â

(On what he did all day) – “It was a long time coming and I was just trying to be at ease with it and just take it easy.â€Â

(On if he would compare himself to a current NFL player) – “Sometimes I can be like a Corey Simon or a Richard Seymour.â€Â

(On what else he has heard about the Miami Dolphins) – “They are on the rise. I think we got a good draft this year from what I have been watching. Coach Saban is trying to turn the program around, turn the organization around with what he is doing. That is good news. I am willing to be a part of that and trying to help him do that.â€Â