Ajayi calms down after rollercoaster of emotion

Jay Ajayi has spent the majority of this NFL season on an emotional rollercoaster, but he is confident of remaining calm at the Super Bowl.

The impression of Ajayi in Miami earlier this season was that he was overly emotional, a “hothead” as his then head coach Adam Gase described him shortly after a sideline outburst at Wembley in the city where he was born.

Soon after, anxious to offload one of their most talented players, the Dolphins traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet this week, ahead of Super Bowl, in which the Eagles face New England Patriots, Ajayi, below, has cut a calm, composed figure who appears at ease four months after having his world turned upside down.

“I’m very calm,,” the 24-year-old said. “You will get a little more anxious leading up to game time, but I understand we’ve got one more job to do. My main focus is making sure I know the gameplan.

Perhaps being jettisoned out of Miami was a wake-up call. Ajayi, who left London for America aged seven, said the notion he was a problem in Miami was “disappointing” having been blind-sided by the trade. “I got up to go to work and found out I was getting traded then found out where I was getting traded to,” he explained. “There was a lot of emotion; a lot of stuff happening very quickly.” Ajayi has claimed he has forgotten about Miami but what was said about him has followed him to his new home.

“When you come into our room, everything that’s been said about you is on the wall – good, bad or ugly,” said Philadelphia running backs coach Duce Staley. “There’s more bad than good. Every day he walks through the room and reads them. If Adam Gase had a quote, it’s up on the wall.”

Ajayi’s nature may not have been appreciated in Miami but to Staley he is a coach’s dream. “He’s very passionate, he’s driven,” Staley added. “He understands and loves his job. He knows when he makes a mistake because he comes right to the sideline and corrects it. I love a player like Jay.”