Bleedin_Phins
Practice Squad
Shortly after being drafted by the Dolphins, wide receiver Patrick Turner spoke to South Florida reporters via conference call. Here's what Turner had to say about being selected by the Dolphins and his potential role in the offense.
On what the experience of being drafted was like: “It’s tough to sleep, but I’m really excited to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins. I’ll go in there ready to work, and try to contribute as a player and listen to the coaches, learn from them, be in the playbook, and try to contribute.”
On if the Dolphins indicated at the Senior Bowl that they were interested in selecting him: “At the Senior Bowl they were the first team I had a meeting with. I met the whole coaching staff, and we had a nice meeting, it went good. We talked about a lot of things and I felt they had a little interest in me, but with the draft there is no way of telling. I’m happy the way it ended up. I’m excited to get out there.”
On if he knew current Dolphins wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell: “I met him before.”
On if playing in a pro-style offense in college will help him transition to the NFL: “With our coaches, and the pro-style offense, and running the West Coast system, we had a lot of coaches with an NFL background. I feel that does nothing but help with a lot of things that are going to be in the playbook, like terminology and things like that. I feel they prepared me, and I feel it has prepared me to take this next step.”
On what he considers his strengths and what he can bring to the Dolphins: “I feel I bring a red zone threat, I feel I bring a lot of mismatches, I feel like I’m a possession receiver. When it comes to third downs, and being on the other side of Ted Ginn, Jr, and having Ernest Wilford, I feel like we can make some big plays. I feel that in the fringe area, to be a bigger guy, I feel I run pretty good routes, and I feel sure-handed, like I can contribute.”
On what he thinks he needs to work on: “I feel like I can improve on my overall game, with everything. I’m never satisfied with my finished product, and looking back on my (last) season and every season. Even after every practice there’s everything you can get better at, so I can get better at my overall game. That’s how I have always felt, and if I always go about it, I can improve on everything.”
On his feeling about USC producing a mixed bag of successes and failures at the wide receiver position at the NFL level, and if he takes this trend personally: “We have had some successful guys, and they may look down upon some of the guys who were not successful. It could give off a view of guys coming into the league and not being productive, but we are all individual players and we are all different. We all bring something different to the table.”
On his feelings concerning the fact that he was a highly rated high school prospect and now his stock has somewhat diminished, and what he thinks is being held against him by scouts: “My junior year I had some drops, I really think they looked at that. Junior year in college I wasn’t healthy, and I think that could have been the biggest thing, but I really don’t know anything besides that. They always labeled me as a slow guy, a slow, tall guy. I’m going to come in with a chip on my shoulder and try to make plays and I’m just excited to be a Miami Dolphin.”
On what NFL player his game most resembles: “I would say I’m similar to a Marques Colston, a Keyshawn Johnson type of player - fending off defenders with my body, extending for the ball making plays in the red zone when the ball is in the air.”
On the fact that he was used in the slot early in his college career and what the thinking behind that positioning was: “They moved me around. I played x, y, z in our offense. I have been in the slot, running lots of different choice routes and stick routes, and I played a lot outside, depending on the team we were playing and the coverages we were trying to attack. Due to the game planning, I would be an inside guy on some plays, I’ll be outside. Most of my time was spent on the outside, but there is also games where you could look up see where I’m on the inside working in
On what the experience of being drafted was like: “It’s tough to sleep, but I’m really excited to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins. I’ll go in there ready to work, and try to contribute as a player and listen to the coaches, learn from them, be in the playbook, and try to contribute.”
On if the Dolphins indicated at the Senior Bowl that they were interested in selecting him: “At the Senior Bowl they were the first team I had a meeting with. I met the whole coaching staff, and we had a nice meeting, it went good. We talked about a lot of things and I felt they had a little interest in me, but with the draft there is no way of telling. I’m happy the way it ended up. I’m excited to get out there.”
On if he knew current Dolphins wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell: “I met him before.”
On if playing in a pro-style offense in college will help him transition to the NFL: “With our coaches, and the pro-style offense, and running the West Coast system, we had a lot of coaches with an NFL background. I feel that does nothing but help with a lot of things that are going to be in the playbook, like terminology and things like that. I feel they prepared me, and I feel it has prepared me to take this next step.”
On what he considers his strengths and what he can bring to the Dolphins: “I feel I bring a red zone threat, I feel I bring a lot of mismatches, I feel like I’m a possession receiver. When it comes to third downs, and being on the other side of Ted Ginn, Jr, and having Ernest Wilford, I feel like we can make some big plays. I feel that in the fringe area, to be a bigger guy, I feel I run pretty good routes, and I feel sure-handed, like I can contribute.”
On what he thinks he needs to work on: “I feel like I can improve on my overall game, with everything. I’m never satisfied with my finished product, and looking back on my (last) season and every season. Even after every practice there’s everything you can get better at, so I can get better at my overall game. That’s how I have always felt, and if I always go about it, I can improve on everything.”
On his feeling about USC producing a mixed bag of successes and failures at the wide receiver position at the NFL level, and if he takes this trend personally: “We have had some successful guys, and they may look down upon some of the guys who were not successful. It could give off a view of guys coming into the league and not being productive, but we are all individual players and we are all different. We all bring something different to the table.”
On his feelings concerning the fact that he was a highly rated high school prospect and now his stock has somewhat diminished, and what he thinks is being held against him by scouts: “My junior year I had some drops, I really think they looked at that. Junior year in college I wasn’t healthy, and I think that could have been the biggest thing, but I really don’t know anything besides that. They always labeled me as a slow guy, a slow, tall guy. I’m going to come in with a chip on my shoulder and try to make plays and I’m just excited to be a Miami Dolphin.”
On what NFL player his game most resembles: “I would say I’m similar to a Marques Colston, a Keyshawn Johnson type of player - fending off defenders with my body, extending for the ball making plays in the red zone when the ball is in the air.”
On the fact that he was used in the slot early in his college career and what the thinking behind that positioning was: “They moved me around. I played x, y, z in our offense. I have been in the slot, running lots of different choice routes and stick routes, and I played a lot outside, depending on the team we were playing and the coverages we were trying to attack. Due to the game planning, I would be an inside guy on some plays, I’ll be outside. Most of my time was spent on the outside, but there is also games where you could look up see where I’m on the inside working in
