Leonte Carroo – May 6, 2016
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Friday, May 6, 2016
Wide Receiver Leonte Carroo
(On what the experience is like for him to finally be part of an NFL team and live out his dream) – “It’s a great experience. After the season, you pretty much train for two months and then you go into things like the Senior Bowl and the Combine. So to finally be here and to be with an organization and to get picked, it’s a great feeling. It’s just a blessing to be here and (you’re) just excited to be with your rookie class and your future team.”
(On if he feels added pressure because the team traded future draft picks to select him) – “No, not at all. Our special teams coach (at Rutgers, Joe Rossi) has a saying, ‘Just do your 1/11th.’ I’m just here to do my job. I’m blessed and thankful for the opportunity that the Dolphins … that they did that for me and that they traded up. I’m here now and I’m excited to be here. I’m just here to do my 1/11th.”
(On if he has a chip on his shoulder) – “Yes. There were, I think, nine receivers that were drafted ahead of me. (With) what I accomplished in college, I felt like I was the best receiver in this draft class. Now that I’m here, I’m just excited. All that stuff is behind me. I’m just going to do my 1/11th and show what I can do on the field.”
(On if he had any troubles sleeping in anticipation of reporting to the team) – “No, not at all. The one thing that the Dolphins organization (did) is that they made it very comfortable for us as a rookie class. It wasn’t very intense when we got in here, as far as coaches yelling at us. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase did a great job of introducing all of the coaches to us and the support staff here. It was good to put a face with all of the names and now we’re just playing football. We’re doing what we’ve been doing since we were five years old. So I didn’t lose any sleep last night. I just woke up and treated it like every other day.”
(On if it is weird to not practice during a rookie minicamp) – “Honestly, this is my first rookie minicamp. I don’t know how any other team does a rookie minicamp. To me, this is what the Miami Dolphins do. I don’t know how any other team does it. I’m just here to do whatever they ask and our job, whether that’s on the field, (in the) weight room, in the classroom or (with the) media. I’m just here to do my job.”
(On if he has seen what Head Coach Adam Gase’s offense will be like and if he feels like the receivers can be versatile in this offense) – “Yes. He’s an offensive genius. He creates a lot of mismatches for a lot of defenses. I feel like, with this offensive system, it allows playmakers to make plays. He’s going to move guys in different spots. That’s why our wide receivers coach (Shawn Jefferson) is big on making sure that we learn the whole concept instead of guys just learning individual routes or what they do. So that’s what I’ve been focused on so that way I’m able to move in different spots, if necessary.”
(On a specific trait he brings to this wide receivers group) – “Kind of a lot like (WR) Jarvis (Landry), I’m a very physical receiver but I’m also fast for my size. I had three career drops in my whole entire career so I catch the ball very well. That’s what I look to do – stretch the field; and, if necessary, I can be in the slot and catch the underneath routes as well.”
(On if he specifically remembers those three drops) – “I remember two of them. I forgot the third one. All I know is that I only had three (drops).”
(On how he decided on playing college football at Rutgers) – “I chose Rutgers because I had a pretty unique situation in high school. My high school was an hour and 10 minutes away from my actual home so I decided to live with a host family for four years in high school. I had a little sister at the time (that) … I was a very important person in her life. I didn’t want to pretty much be out of her life for eight years so I decided to just stay home. (My hometown of) Edison is two minutes away from Rutgers so I stayed home and was able to go to her basketball games and things like that. So that’s the reason that I stayed home.”
(On his arrest and if he thinks it impacted the draft process for him) – “I do believe it probably did hurt me. But at the end of the day, it’s behind me now. The Miami Dolphins obviously believed in me since Day 1 and believed that it wasn’t true, which it wasn’t. I was exonerated and I was back on my team two weeks after the incident happened. I’m just happy that that stuff is behind me and I’m ready to play football now.”
(On the experience of living with a host family) – “It was awesome. It was a little weird at first, me being a 13-year-old little boy. And I’m here, pretty much out of my comfort zone because I’m from a pretty bad neighborhood and now I’m in Ramsey, New Jersey, which is a pretty wealthy neighborhood. I’m not used to some of the things. But that family made it very welcoming for me. They had three kids of their own and they allowed me to stay with them. They treated me as if I was their son for years.”
(On his sister) – “Her name is Kenisha. She’s a freshman in high school now so she was in elementary school when I left. I’m her big brother. It was a time … I played three sports in high school so I didn’t go home much at all. I was living a college experience in high school. So when it was time to make my decision, I was a U.S. Army All-American, so I had scholarship (offers) everywhere. So I said why not stay home so I could continue to be a part of her life, watch here grow up, and also try to do something that’s never been done and that’s bring a championship back to Rutgers.”
(On what he expects to get out of this rookie minicamp) – “Learning how to be a pro. This is the first time any of us are officially a pro. So one, you have to learn how to be a pro, learn how to take care of your body, and also learn how to be a Miami Dolphin. (You have to) learn the offenses, make your way around the building (and) get to know people. They have the connections here for us to not only be a great player but a great person. So we just have to take advantage of it.”
(On what he attributes to having just three drops in college and if catching the football comes natural to him) – “It’s actually not natural. My junior year (of high school), kind of like what (WR Jakeem) Grant was up here saying, I was a little big-headed. I had (18) touchdowns up until the state championship game my junior year. And I think in my junior year state championship game, I think I dropped six touchdown passes in that one game. It was something I took a lot of pride in. I came back my senior year and worked on my hands every single day. I did rice bucket and sand bucket (exercises) and caught JUGS and I dropped one pass my senior year. I (went) to college and, from that junior year experience, I told myself that I was going to try not to ever drop a pass again because it was just embarrassing. I just focused on my hands every day. Every morning, before anybody else got into the building, I caught JUGS, 100 balls a day (and) 100 balls after practice. That’s what I’m going to continue to do here, continue to do what I do best and that’s catch the ball.”
(On if he won that state championship game his junior year) – “We won. We almost lost though but we ended up winning. I never lost a game in high school.”
(On how he dropped six touchdowns in one games) – “(It was) just a lack of focus. Not to make any excuses, (but) it was freezing cold. My coaches put me in the best situation to score touchdowns. I actually lost a lot of scholarships off of it. Like I said, I was rolling. I had (almost) 20 touchdowns in that season. Up until that state championship game, I thought I was the man. That week I wasn’t practicing as hard. It was a lifelong lesson for me. I learned from it and now I take advantage of every opportunity. (During) game week, I still make sure that I stick to my routine so that I won’t ever drop a pass again.”
