Receiver Ford starting to grab some attention

DAVIE — Isaiah Ford has added a bit of weight and strength and he knows a lot more about the Dolphins’ offense than he did at this time last year. But having recovered from a torn meniscus in his knee, Ford is still confident in his abilities.

“I think I’m a competitor, first and foremost,” Ford said Wednesday. “I want to win at everything that I do. And I think that starts with my mindset on how I approach everything. I’m a versatile player. I can play inside and out. I can make those contested catches. And I’m a technician. That’s something that I pride myself on, being really good in and out of my breaks. Running really good routes and things like that.”

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Ford has shined at times this spring, one year after Miami made him a seventh-round selection from Virginia Tech. Ford’s path to the Dolphins’ roster is through versatility and consistent production.

“He’s done a good job,” Miami coach Adam Gase said Tuesday. “He’s made a lot of plays, a lot of catches. … We felt so good about him last training camp and it was really tough for him getting hurt because he was making strides. He was starting to break through working him in the slot and he still has ability outside.”

Ford was injured running a routine slant last summer against Tony Lippett. Rehabilitating his knee alongside Ryan Tannehill and Raekwon McMillan was a rewarding and competitive experience.

“That helped us push through the dark days,” Ford said. “Where we didn’t really feel like rehabbing or we were down on ourselves. And to have Ryan there as a leader to kind of help us push through was really huge for both of us.”

Ford said the three of them would see who could bike the farthest in 10 minutes while hooked up to a bloodflow restrictor.

“Then our trainer stopped it because he got a little scared,” Ford said. “Whoever was up next had to beat it. I think Raekwon was the last to go so he had the record. So nobody else got to go.”

Ford said he appreciates the game more now and realizes how much he missed it. He has a better understanding of the terminology of the offense and what coaches are expecting.

“My job is to compete. To execute. To know my job. To know where I’m supposed to be. And where I’m supposed to be, be there,” he said.

Rookies working to ditch nicknames: Now that hazing has been legislated out of football, teams are finding creative, relatively harmless ways to make rookies prove themselves to their veteran co-workers.

For the Dolphins’ defensive backs, this means they’ve been saddled with corny nicknames until they earn the right to be called what they want. Miami’s corners and safeties all have cool names like G5 (Reshad Jones), X (Xavien Howard) and Tank (Cordrea Tankersley), so this is an ongoing thing in that corner of the locker room.

Sixth-round pick Cornell Armstrong, a cornerback, goes by Big Country — a moniker worn not-so-prestigiously by former Vancouver Grizzlies center Bryant Reeves — because position coach Tony Oden thinks the way he talks is a little backwoods.

“He detected the accent,” Armstrong said. “They tell me I talk too fast. Sometimes I’ve gotta slow down. If you hear me say, ‘Bassf ’ldmississippi,’ they don’t understand. I have to break it down as ‘Bass-field.’”

Big Country isn’t the worst thing to be called, but Armstrong usually goes by ‘C-Nell’ and would like to get that back as soon as possible.

“I know Jalen Davis, his nickname is Surfer because he’s from San Diego and Coach says he likes to surf, I guess,” Armstrong said. “Johnathan Alston, we call him Snoop because of his dreads and long hair. What do we call Mink (first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick, from Alabama)? We really just call him Tide.”

The rookies head into their final offseason practice today as Organized Team Activities wrap up.