Douglas players attend Dolphins camp
DAVIE — Ever since the tragedy in Parkland, there has been a link between the Dolphins and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Wednesday, that relationship entered a new chapter when the school’s football team watched the Dolphins go through offseason team activities before meeting with the pros.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill and long snapper John Denney were among those who talked with the Eagles, who last week held their spring game to conclude spring practice.
The Dolphins were among the first to contribute to a fund for victims of the Feb. 14 tragedy that claimed 17 lives, adding $100,000. Dolphins players attended a candlelight vigil in Parkland, Hall of Famer Jason Taylor attended the funeral of football coach Aaron Feis and members of the Eagles football team announced the Dolphins’ Day 3 picks on national television during the NFL draft.
“I think it always helps you,” Douglas coach Willis May said of Wednesday’s field trip. “It makes you feel better. It takes your mind off everything and puts it on the game.
“We hope that especially in football season this year that the whole community of Parkland will come out and rally with us and help us and push us to have an outstanding year and together, we’ll forget about some things and just enjoy the beautiful game of football.”
The Eagles met with Tom Garfinkel, the Dolphins’ president and CEO, and were given a tour of the training facility.
The visit was an escape from the everyday realities that still confront Douglas students as the school year winds down.
May hopes it also was a learning experience, in a football sense, for his players to see the details pros must pay attention to as they work on their game.
“How do you think they got here?” May said he tells his players. “They do all the little things that we’re trying to get you all to do, but they do all those little things and have been doing them for a long time. And that’s what makes them great.
“So our guys see that and hopefully that’ll help them out a whole lot.”
Offense inconsistent in early OTAs: The Dolphins are five practices into their offseason sessions, and the offense has been inconsistent so far.
There have been times when Tannehill seems at ease with his new array of skill players, but the offense also been stagnant for some stretches.
Here are some notes on Wednesday morning’s work:
■ Wide receiver Leonte Carroo is out for an unspecified reason. Cornerback Tony Lippett is also out.
■ Defensive end Charles Harris worked on the side with a trainer during 11-on11 work. He was mostly running sprints.
■ During red-zone work, Tannehill hit Kenyan Drake for a short touchdown on a play-action pass.
■ David Fales hit Frank Gore in traffic for a red-zone touchdown. Fales continues to look like the leader to win the backup quarterback job.
■ Tannehill converted a fourth-and-3 on a completion to DeVante Parker, then followed with another pass to Parker in the hurry-up offense. Tannehill also had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage that ended up in linebacker Kiko Alonso’s hands, but he dropped it.
■ Rookie kicker Jason Sanders hit a 49-yarder from the left hash and missed from 56 on the right hash.
Bubble guy now a starter: In less than a year, Kenyan Drake has gone from being Jay Ajayi’s understudy to a featured running back poised to break out in 2018. But has he come the farthest of any Dolphin?
Drake has competition from offensive lineman Jesse Davis, an undrafted free agent who last summer was fighting for any of the 53 roster spots. Davis isn’t fighting to keep his jersey anymore. He’s working to maintain his status as the starting right guard.
Davis, 26, couldn’t help but think of how far he has come before OTAs when line coach Jeremiah Washburn called to confirm the promotion.
“Kind of sitting back, going, ‘Whoa. Things are happening pretty quick,’ ” Davis said. “Now I’m in a position to where I’m starting versus, ‘Am I a bubble guy? Am I going to be released here if they sign a different guy?’ It’s definitely a roller coaster.”
The turning point came, of all days, during the Dolphins’ trip to Baltimore last season. It was a miserable game, a 40-0 blowout. Yet Davis, who’d gone into the nationally televised game just hoping to not make a mistake, came away with a renewed sense of confidence.
“I can actually do this,” he thought.
Davis had been cut by the Seahawks and Jets before joining the Dolphins’ practice squad in November 2016. His status as a starter isn’t to suggest Davis feels content he has arrived.
“You have to reinvent yourself every day,” Davis said. “A coach told me that my rookie year and it’s always stuck with me. You can’t just come in here thinking that you’ve got something.”
Davis does have something: He has his hands full. He’s getting married June 30.
The wedding will be on a reservation on a lake in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. They’re going to Hawaii for their honeymoon, to Maui, where dodging lava from Kilauea won’t be a problem.
“Just hectic,” he said of planning. “We’re getting so close to it. You’re just kind of like — all you want to do when you get home is do your own thing and watch film. But she wants to wedding-plan.”