Keion Crossen – March 21, 2022
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Monday, March 21, 2022
DB Keion Crossen
(It seems like you have a past relationship with Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer. What role did he play in you coming to Miami? And early on in that one season in New England, what was the impact he had on your career?) – “Josh Boyer is a great coach. Obviously he drafted me when I was in New England. He actually developed me in my rookie year. He’s a great guy, a really good coach. I know he’s going to put in the effort as a coach towards me as a player in making sure that I have all the tools and essentials to be a great football player. That was my reasoning for choosing Miami, in terms of Josh Boyer. He’s a good coach and gets the best out of his players, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
(Did General Manager Chris Grier, Head Coach Mike McDaniel or Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer give you any sense of whether you would get an opportunity to play defensively here?) – “I think that’s always the expectation. Even being a special teams player, you always look for opportunities of where you can fit in to make the team better. Whether that’s me being on special teams, me being at the nickel or the outside corner, I think wherever I can fit in to make the team better, that’s the position I’ll be playing. I think with the assets that I have, they’ll try to find every chance or possibility to give me a role. As we work out those kinks, my main goal here is to make the team better and do what I can do to the best of my ability.”
(You mentioned special teams. There are a lot of good special teamers, but there are only a handful of great special teamers. What do you think is required of a great special teams player?) – “I think the discipline just to understand the craft. Special teams as a position is very different from offense and defense because it’s the only team on the field that has multiple aspects to it. It has offensive players, defensive players and it has guys that specialize in special teams. I think it takes a team effort. It takes a lot of ability to lead and ability to follow – a lot of communication aspects. But at the end of the day, it takes a lot of hard tough-nosed guys to get the ball. I think we have that and I think we can work to create more of that this year and the years following. That’s the thing I think it takes to be a great special teams unit. I don’t think it’s one player that makes the unit the best. I think it takes a team effort, and that’s what I’m here to do. We’ll see how that goes.”
(I heard there is a street named after you in your hometown? How did that come about and what does that mean to you?) – “I was surprised. I want to say about a year and a half ago, I was surprised with it. My hometown of Garysburg (North Carolina) had a revealing. I was actually shocked then. That was a dream come true to have the street that you live on – and one of my parents still stays back in my hometown. My dad visits the street very often. It’s a dream come true. The town is accumulated of less than 1,000 people, I would say. There are still kids there that need to be motivated and need to be inspired. I’m glad that God put me in the position to be an inspiration.”
(What’s the official name of the street?) – “It’s Keion Crossen Street.”
(The last time we chatted, you mentioned your master’s degree. I wanted to get you to follow up on that and talk more about your decision to pursue that master’s degree and what exactly you have it in?) – “My master’s degree is in theology. The decision I made to pursue it was basically – I’m an educated individual and I like to pursue education. I think that knowledge is not only power but it’s also a stream to communication, it’s a stream to meeting others and communicating with others. I like to learn – even with football, outside of football, I like to learn. Most people think theology is all about the bible, the bible, the bible. But actually, it teaches you about different cultures. When I get a chance to go and I’m sitting with a Buddhist, I know the culture. I know what exactly they accept, exactly what they don’t accept. It’s just a way to network and to create different relationships. It’s been a trying educational period for me because oddly Liberty has a strict master’s program. It’s definitely been a disciplined action. I took pride in it and I hope a lot more guys in the league take pride in whether it’s finishing their undergrad or going to get their master’s. Education is important and one day I hope my kids are able to do the same thing. That’s what I wanted to start, just that educational, generational wealth, if you will.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel, I don’t know how much time you’ve gotten to speak with him yet, but do you have a first impression?) – “That is an exciting guy. Obviously he loves speed. I think that’s one thing he mentioned to me for sure. One thing he mentioned for sure is family. This place is like family. You can even tell within the walls of the facility. He’s all about having fun, enjoying the game and he lets his players be who they are. That’s one thing I like about him. When I first met him, we were just chilling on the couch, talking. It wasn’t even about ball. It was about life and that’s all that matters. We know he’s a hell of a coach and he’ll get to prove that when his time comes. At the end of the day, he’s a players coach. I’m looking forward to getting to know him a little bit more and I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting to know me more as well.”
(What brought you to major in theology? What inspired that?) – “As a young guy, I was always into church, but I never could figure out what church was about. Going to a Baptist church, obviously there is a lot of shouting and hooting and hollering, and you don’t know what exactly is going on, but you know something is happening. I just wanted to dig deeper. I had a pastor named Rev. Lee. He’s my hometown pastor. I met with him a few times and he actually encouraged me. He said do you ever want to try to figure out what exactly it is that you’re doing. We met a few times. It was one youth Sunday he let me be the MC. I wasn’t the lead pastor, but I was the MC and I really, really enjoyed it. I always tell people the feeling that I got preaching on that one Easter Sunday when he actually gave me the opportunity about two years ago, it was way better than any feeling I’ve had, even in the Super Bowl that we won with the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. It was way better than that. I know it’s a passion that I have because it not only helps me lead people, but it helps change people’s lives. That’s whether it’s in the church or just evangelizing out here in the world. That comes every day. It’s an everyday thing that I try to pursue and I try to get better at.”
(What would you say after all of your studies is the purpose for life?) – “The purpose for life, honestly there are three things I would say. One thing would be to be a better person. Find your better self and that helps you get the best out of others, because the more you know about yourself, the better you can get things out of others. The next thing is to enjoy life, have a good time and try to be as respectful as possible. I think those three concepts all lead with the integrity factors of respect, honesty, and doing all of the right things. I think that’s a given – being respectful, being honest, that’s a given. Everyone should do that. But that’s not always the case.”
Teddy Bridgewater – March 21, 2022
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Monday, March 21, 2022
QB Teddy Bridgewater
(I wanted to ask you what memories stand out from last time you played in Miami, high school ball at the West, playing at Traz Powell and the whole bit?) – “I’m just happy to be back home, man. So many memories. So many special moments in my sports career happened in South Florida and South Florida played a huge role in me developing the mindset that I have as an athlete, as a man in society. Of course, you remember the Friday nights at Traz Powell Stadium competing against Miami Central, Carol City and Booker T and just the pageantry. You realize how passionate how everyone is about sports down here.”
(You started off at wide receiver in high school right? And then converted to quarterback. Also, I heard during your time in high school that you thought you would have to convert back to wide receiver to play in the NFL. Can you take us through both the process of becoming a quarterback initially and then why you felt back in the day that you would have to make that move back in order to play in the league?) – “I always went back and forth from the time I played little league, being a quarterback and wide receiver. I always loved playing wide receiver just growing up watching Randy Moss and Chad Johnson. You know, those guys. I wanted to be like those guys, scoring touchdowns, celebrating. In high school, our quarterback my sophomore year who started the season was Wayne Times. The time he was on the varsity team the year before I got there, he was a spectacular player. We just made a transition where he went to receiver and I went to quarterback and so many great things happened for his career and my career. I really just always went back and forth because I felt like I was always a better receiver. I loved catching the ball. Just trying to be a receiver with a quarterback’s mindset, that’s a huge asset to a wide receiver when you can think like a quarterback and play as a receiver.”
(What went into your decision to come to Miami and what was General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s pitch to you to come here and back up QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “Honestly man, the conversations that I had with the coaches – they were transparent with everything. Being from South Florida, this is home. I get to sleep in my own bed every night. Not have to find somewhere to live. My son is here. My family is here. It was pretty much a smooth and there wasn’t too much to decide on. The football side will always take care of itself. I’m just looking forward to this opportunity that I have.”
(Have you had any conversations with QB Tua Tagovailoa since you signed last week?) – “No, I haven’t. I’m pretty sure we’ll talk here in the near future.”
(I just wanted to touch briefly – you started off at Bunche Park playing with the Cowboys. Did you ever think that one day you would be playing quarterback for the Miami Dolphins?) – “When you grow up here, you can’t miss the stadium. From the days when the Marlins played baseball in the stadium, I thought I was either going to be a baseball player for the Marlins or a football player for the Dolphins at some point because that was so much motivation and it’s still motivation for so many young children playing sports in South Florida today. You ride on the Turnpike, you can’t miss the stadium. You can be all the way down south by the airport on 836 and you can see the stadium still. It was always like, ‘Man, one day. One day.’ That day finally came when it became official last week. I’m just taking it one day at a time, looking forward to being the best football player I can be, being the best man that I can be, continue to do some great things in the community and help this team.”
(You spoke on the community a little bit. You’re very big on the community aspect. I know seeing you sometimes, a few years back over by Miami-Northwestern and just participating with the youth. What impact are you trying to have and leave with them this year with you coming back home, being successful, having the accolades and things? What kind of message do you want to instill on the youth this year coming back?) – “The message hasn’t changed. It’s dream big. No dream is too big. I’m happy that I get to be home. I always tell myself that the more that they see you in the flesh, the more it means to them. Oftentimes you see your idol on TV and it’s like, ‘Man, okay that’s my idol.’ To see them in the flesh, to see that you walk the same sidewalks, play street football in the same streets, play in the same parks, went to the same middle schools, high schools, that’s huge for a lot of children and teenagers. Like I said, first and foremost I’m home to be a football player but I get the opportunity to continue to make an impact in the community.”
(Can you share with us what the Dolphins told you specifically about your role coming to the team?) – “Honestly man, that’s a conversation I’d rather keep in-house. It’s a unique opportunity for me, for this organization and I’m happy that I could be a part of it this season. I’m going to be the best version of Teddy that I can be, helping the way that I know how to help, being genuine and still giving my all to this game.”
(Are you coming in with the idea that you will be backing up QB Tua Tagovailoa or do you feel that you might have a shot to earn the starting job?) – “That’s something that the coaches and I, we talked about. I’m confident in that conversation and it’s really something that I would rather not discuss (publicly).”
(In terms of this offense, what about it appeals to you as a quarterback?) – “This offense, it’s quarterback friendly. There are always guys open, running wide open at times. This coaching staff, if you’ve followed them over the past couple of years, you’ve seen their work to get everyone involved form the running backs to the tight ends to the wide receivers. That’s appealing and I’m just excited to continue to grow mentally in this league, learn a new offense and just grow.”
(Do you feel like it suits your skillsets?) – “Yeah, definitely. Of course. I just have to get up to speed, do my part and I know that this coaching staff will do a great job of getting everyone to be the best version of themselves and get guys to play to their strengths. All I’ve got to do is just get a grasp of everything and go from there.”
(I’ve been looking at this for a while, do you feel like you are the best Miami quarterback that the community has ever produced? When you stack it up, you’ve probably had one of the biggest career) – “(Laughter) Yeah, I have the accolades but I tell people all the time my favorite guy is Cato, Rakeem Cato. The things that he was able to do and I was competing against him every year. We were the same year in high school, played against each other in college. He’s the one guy that I just couldn’t beat in basketball, football. I punished him in baseball but he was a guy, he went up to Marshall and did some great things. I think he broke just about all the passing records at Marshall. He’s one of the best to me.”
(What did you learn from your experience in Denver last year and what are your thoughts on them trading for QB Russell Wilson?) – “This business, man, it’s been great to me. It’s opened doors for me. It’s given me opportunity after opportunity. That’s what Denver did for me. They gave me a chance to continue to grow in this league and I’m appreciative that they traded for me from Carolina. Last year was great just to be a part of that organization, have an impact in the ways that I may have had. With the trade, I’m happy for them. I think George (Paton) and I have a great relationship. From him trading Von Miller and Von winning a Super Bowl. I texted George like, ‘Hey man, what you did for Von and his career, I’ve got mad respect for you.’ The trade for Russell, I’m happy for those guys, especially those receivers there. They get to continue to grow in this league and I wish them nothing but the best.”
(What have you learned since entering the NFL to now about what it takes to best position yourself to be a good quarterback in the National Football League? What have you learned about what it takes for a quarterback to succeed in the NFL?) – “It starts with throwing the ball to your guys. That’s how you last. Also man, just having a process and a routine. I learned that – it took me what, four years? It took me until I got to New Orleans with Drew Brees to really understand the value of the process of having a routine. When you have those things, it makes the week have structure. You’re not all over the place because on Sunday, you have to be dialed in and hopefully your routine is in such a way that it has you prepared on Sunday. That’s the biggest thing, having a process, having a routine and sticking to it and trusting it.”
