William Fuller V – March 23, 2021
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Tuesday, March 23, 2021
WR William Fuller V
(First, I’ve got to ask you, you got hit with the escalator in the grocery store? They don’t have that in Houston?) – “That was my first time seeing that. (laughter) They might have that in Houston, I got some Houston fans that were contacting me saying, ‘we’ve got that in Houston too.’ But I didn’t see it in Houston. That was my first time seeing it in Florida.”
(I have a football question for you. It’s a nice one-year deal for you. How did free agency with the cap room being a little bit smaller this year affect you weighing a one year versus a multi-year deal? And how happy are you to be on your one-year deal here in Miami?) – “I’m super excited to be here in Miami. I feel like I wanted to take a one-year (deal) just to prove my worth in the league. I’ve had my fair share of injuries and I’ve been working really hard. I just want to prove to the NFL, and to the Dolphins for taking a chance on me, that I’m a player that they would love to have long term.”
(The Dolphins were looking for somebody who could stretch the field. Tell me in what ways you think you can do that for them.) – “I think my tape speaks for itself. I’m a vertical threat. I can also do more things underneath. I think I bring an element to the Dolphins offense that can help other guys out and help this team continue to get better and help them to win. Whatever I can do to help this team win, whatever they ask of me, I’m going to do. So I’m excited to be here.”
(The PED suspension, did you have to assure the Dolphins at all that it was just a one-time thing? What’s your view on that situation going into this year?) – “Yeah. I’ve talked to the coaching staff about that. That’s something personal between me and them that we’ve talked about. I definitely had to shore some things up with them. For me, it was a one-time thing (that was) completely accidental and that’s never going to happen again. I’m excited to put that in my past and just come to Miami and put my head down and work.”
(What do you know about QB Tua Tagovailoa skillset and how do you plan to make sure that you guys develop the best connection?) – “I’m out here in Houston finishing up my offseason program and doing my workout stuff here. I’m almost done, so I’m looking forward to getting off to Miami as soon as possible and contact with him. I’ve already spoken with him on the phone and texted with him. We’re setting things up to go over there in Miami and throw, so I’m excited about that as well in the near future coming up soon.”
(Despite your arrival there is still speculation with the Dolphins holding two first-round picks that they might even go after a wide receiver – WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Devonta Smith, for example. Would you welcome that just to spread the wealth?) – “Oh yeah, of course. The more talent we’ve got, the easier it will be for all of us. Whatever they are going to do in the draft, I have no idea. That’s above my head. I’m just here to do my job; but I’d love another receiver in the room. Just keep bringing talent and we’ll keep making plays.”
(They’ve taken all of my football Dolphins questions so I wanted to ask you about what Houston QB Deshaun Watson is going through. Have you talked to him? Where do you think his mind is and what’s next for him?) – “Yeah, I fully support Deshaun. I don’t know any of the specifics about what’s going on with him, but I fully support him. I’ve been talking to him. To me, it seems like his head is on completely straight. I’m just looking forward to seeing where everything goes. Hopefully he’s okay.”
(Why Miami? Why this program right now with this quarterback?) – “I signed a one-year deal looking to help this team win. I’m just excited to be here. I’m excited for a fresh start. Miami took a chance on me and I’m just excited to be here and excited to put my head down and work. Tua (Tagovailoa), he’s an electric player. I watched him all through college. I didn’t get much time to watch him in the NFL because I was with Houston, but I’m super excited to play with Tua and can’t wait to work with him.”
(With your experience in Houston, what was that like last year in 2020? It seems like it was a whirlwind and stuff happening from Bill O’Brien coming in and getting fired, and then towards the end of the year after the offseason, QB Deshaun Watson making clear he wanted out. What sort of was it like being on that team with everything going on?) – “It was a little different season for me, but I don’t even want to talk about Houston. I played there five years and I’m happy they drafted me. I had a great time there but I’m just looking forward to the next chapter of my career and starting fresh with Miami. Like I keep saying, I’m just super excited to get to work and finally meet the guys and go to training camp and put in that work.”
(You talked about how you consider yourself more of a complete receiver as opposed to just a one-trick pony, a guy who just gets the deep ball. But fans kind of have this fascination, this romanticism, with the deep ball, the deep catch, the deep touchdown. Why do you think that is? Why do you think people love that 70-yard touchdown pass play?) – “Who doesn’t love those long touchdown plays. That’s a simple question. It’s a quick-scoring, exciting play. Who doesn’t like those fast, quick touchdowns that put points on the board fast? I feel like, like I said, I have the underneath skillset too; but that’s what makes things a lot easier for me is just having the ability to score on any given play. That opens up a lot of things underneath for me, so I use that to my advantage.”
(What are some of the things that you’re doing now to maybe keep yourself healthy and hopefully play 16 games this year?) – “I’m wearing this shirt and this guy is helping me a lot – Benjamin Fairchild. Just specific training for my body and not doing what everyone else is doing as far as linemen and quarterbacks. Just doing something specific for my body because everyone is different. I started working out with him last year and I just took it to a new level this year, adding some things here and there. This is probably the best I’ve felt in my career, so I’m excited to play 16 games this season.”
(I’ll end it light with you. What’s it like for a Philly kid coming down to Miami and playing in this heat? What do you think it’ll be like?) – “Luckily I’ve played in Houston before I came to Miami because it gets pretty hot in Houston. But I’m preparing for it. I’m out here running a lot and I’m conditioning. I think I’ll handle the heat well. That’s been something I’ve never had a problem with is my conditioning. I think I’ll do pretty well over there. I’m excited for that, as well.”
Duke Riley – March 22, 2021
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Monday, March 22, 2021
LB Duke Riley
(What was something that intrigued you about joining the Dolphins and what are you most excited about here?) – “I’m just excited about everything. It’s a fresh start for me. I’m excited about the coaching staff, playing with the guys, guys getting to know me and the great weather, the great city, the great organization. I’m just excited to be here just in general. I’m just excited for a new opportunity, just excited for an opportunity to have a job again. It’s a blessing, regardless.”
(What would you say is the biggest thing you will bring to this Dolphins team?) – “Just positive energy. That’s the only thing I can say. I’m going to bring energy and just be consistent. Other than that, I could sit here and say I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that, but the film and the eye in the sky will never lie.”
(How well did you know Head Coach Brian Flores before this week and what do you know about the work he does with linebackers?) – “I know he’s going to put us in the best position to make plays and be instinctual and play fast. I met with him during the recruiting process back in 2017 coming out in the draft, so we’ve sat and talked before. I’m just excited to play for a guy like him. He’s going to bring the best out of everyone and we’re going to be competing like no other, so I’m just excited for that.”
(What kind of player are you? What are the Dolphins and Dolphins fans going to see when you hit the field?) – “Energy. That’s all I can say. Just energy and being the same guy and just a guy who’s going to bring his teammates along, a guy who’s going to lead by example, a guy who’s going to – I’m not going to be perfect. No one in this league is. It’s hard to be perfect in anything you do; but that’s the main thing, just energy and consistent.”
(I wanted to ask you, what did it take do you think for your defensive snaps to go up dramatically from Atlanta to Philly? I know your first year in Philly, not a lot of defensive snaps. Last year, it went up a lot. What do you think you showed that warranted those snaps? Where did you improve that you became more of a defensive factor?) – “It really became from my special teams play. I knew that I would have to make an impact on special teams to be noticed. I wanted to play defense and a lot of people I guess, sometimes they get in moods when they’re not on defense and they think special teams is not part of – I don’t know how people look at it, but I look at it like it’s everything. I look at any time I’m on the field that any opportunity I’ve got is everything. So that’s why I was able to get on defense because I was able to make plays on special teams and be noticed, and I guess they figured if I could do it there and make plays in space on (special) teams, then they would put me on defense. It seemed to worked out. I helped myself a lot by just staying committed and staying dedicated and believing in myself, even though I wasn’t getting that many snaps at first. I never let it get to me. I kind of just stayed down and stayed digging like I always am. I’m still digging right now. (laughter)”
(How many different ways did the Eagles use you on defense? I apologize I haven’t been able to watch your tape yet.) – “In many different ways. Third-down situations, first-down situations; I’m an every-down guy. I pretty much can play in any situation, but there were a lot of situations that the Eagles used me and then I became an every-down guy for them. At first, I was just a third-down and situational guy, and then I started making plays in those situations and they wanted to see more and then I became an every-down guy.”
(I wanted to ask you if you think you can play both inside and outside in a 3-4. Would you be as comfortable in as out in that scheme?) – “I’ll just be comfortable – to be honest with you – wherever the coaches really want to put me at. I think they’re going to put me in the best position for the team and for me to be successful, and that’s what it’s all about. They’re going to put me in a position for the team to be successful, so that’s all I want them to do and that’s what I’m ready for.”
(What do you think this defense and this team could aspire to be next season?) – “I don’t want to make any predictions. We’re in the offseason right now. I just want to get with the guys and meet them, show them what I’m capable of and what I can bring to the table and where we can grow from there. We don’t even know what this team is going to look like, so it’s kind of hard to make any predictions on what’s going to happen, so I just want to be where my feet are right now. I’m thankful that I signed with Dolphins today and I’m excited to be with my new teammates. Then we can work together towards futures and future goals, but we’ve got to start day-by-day. That’s the only way you can do it. You can’t ever look ahead in life. That’s how you miss what’s right in front of you.”
(Duke Riley is a great name for a football player. Is that a family name, Duke?) – “No, I’m the only Duke Riley. My dad’s name is Duke. I got my name from my dad and I have my mom’s maiden name, Riley. So I’m one of one. (laughter)”
Brennan Scarlett – March 22, 2021
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Monday, March 22, 2021
LB Brennan Scarlett
(What was your free agency process like and what led you to wanting to join the Dolphins?) – “I appreciate the welcome and I’m happy to be here. Free agency, it was my first time going through it. It was an interesting process, not truly knowing where I was going to land and dealing with the stresses that go along with that process; but I really just took it all in. I leaned on my agent and my support group to help me stay in the right direction. At the end of the day, Miami is a great historic franchise. There is a huge opportunity here as it pertains to winning football games. The coaching staff – talking with ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores), I really respect what they are doing. So at the end of the day, that’s what led me here to Miami.”
(I’m curious, when you have those conversations with Head Coach Brian Flores and General Manager Chris Grier, was your role in 2021 discussed and how did they envision using you this year?) – “We didn’t get into particulars about the role. Just knowing that whatever it was going to be, it’s a role that’s going to have to be earned, which I respect and I look forward to. At the end of the day, the coaches have a job and all I can go out there and do is compete, show my stuff and let them kind of plug me in as they see fit. So I’m looking forward to that.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on being united with LB Benardrick McKinney and what kind of player are the Dolphins getting both in you and McKinney?) – “Yeah, I appreciate it. ‘B-Mack’ that’s a great guy, a good friend of mine and a great teammate to have out on the football field. The biggest thing about ‘B-Mack’ is that he loves the game of football. He’s passionate to be out there on the field and I think that’s one of the most important pieces to playing with somebody is somebody who wants to be out there and loves to be out there. That’s really what I’m looking forward to. I would say that I share those same values. I look forward to competing every day and at the end of the day, I look forward to winning football games because that’s really what we’re out here to do. I would say that’s what they got here in the two of us is two guys that love to compete and love to play the game of football.”
(Can you take us through how 2020 was for you? I know you were a little banged up and might not have been what you were hoping for. Do you think that the player that was there in 2019 is going to be there for us in 2021?) – “Yeah, I’ll play to the best of my abilities for sure. A lot of stuff obviously happened in 2020, but I’m excited to look forward to 2021 and being here as a part of the Miami Dolphins organization and everything that we’ve got coming down the road. I’m really excited about where it’s headed and I’m looking forward to 2021.”
(I want to ask you a little bit about your college career. The Cal/Stanford thing doesn’t normally go together but you made it happen. If you could describe what that was like; and also I read that you had some interesting choice in major with engineering. What did you have in mind to do with that as maybe a post-football career?) – “Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I did the Cal/Stanford thing. It doesn’t really happen like that; but for me, it was just the best path. Cal was a great university, a great football program; but after I graduated – like you said with a business degree after four years there – it was time to move on. Stanford was an opportunity there. I had to go about 45 minutes south and was lucky enough to pursue my masters degree, as you said, in engineering there; and really play a physical brand of football and be a part of a winning culture at that time. We won a Rose Bowl, which I’m proud of. Yeah, concerning the degrees, just education is important to me. I love to challenge myself in every area of life and Stanford did that for sure. (laughter) But I got through it.”
(Correct me if I’m wrong, but you played at Cal with Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark. I wanted to ask you what kind of player was he and how weird is it that he’s now one of your coaches on the defensive staff?) – “You talk about a player with some grit – ‘AC’ (Austin Clark). ‘AC’ had some grit. Just again, another guy that loves to play the game. I could tell back then how passionate he was about the ins and outs of the game, the fundamentals and the intangible things that it takes to be a great football player. ‘AC’ had all of those things. I’m not surprised he’s sitting in the seat that he’s sitting in now. I’m really excited to work with him again and really pursue this thing together once again. ‘AC,’ he was the Honey Badger. That’s what we called him back then. There was Tyrann Mathieu and then there was Austin Clark. (laughter)”
(I don’t want to bring up old stuff, but a couple of you guys from the Texans joined the Dolphins here. It seems like everybody is happy to leave that situation for a new one. Can you just speak to that, I guess what this new opportunity holds for you guys after having some frustrating years in Houston?) – “Yeah, for sure. The Miami Dolphins organization has a great history, a history of winning, a historic organization that’s been around for a lot of years. It’s one that I’ve always respected growing up and always looked to. I’m really excited to be a part of that story, looking forward to the 2021 season and everything that that could possibly be. I’m excited to be a part of it and get out there and compete, win some football games and have some fun. I think for me, that’s really what I’m excited about being here.”
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