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Chris Grier – April 28, 2016 (on Laremy Tunsil) Download PDF version

Thursday, April 28, 2016

General Manager Chris Grier (on G/T Laremy Tunsil)

(Opening Statement) – “Just quickly, we’re excited to add Laremy (Tunsil) to our roster. It was a great opportunity for us. We’re very comfortable with all the information we have on the situation that you guys will probably address. I’ll just open it up for questions because, obviously, the draft is still going on (and) I have to get back upstairs.”

(On how long the Dolphins have known about the video) – “We had heard rumors, but we had done work. We had known about it. The video is two years old. So, from all the information we had, we were comfortable with it.”

(On how old the video is) – “Two years old.”

(On what makes him believe this move will be a positive one) – “We’ve done a lot of work. (Director of Team Security) Stu Weinstein – as you guys know – is one of the best security guys in the league, security directors. (We have) done a great job of researching (Laremy Tunsil’s) background. We spent time with him at the combine. Our area scout, Matt Winston, has done a great job in terms of researching him, spending some time with him at the pro day. This is a guy … He has done personality tests, all the stuff we do. This is a guy … He loves football at the end of the day. This is a guy who’s ultra-competitive (when) you watch him play. This is a different situation from that. This guy’s different. He’s built different.”

(On whether they believed Tunsil would be available at No. 13) – “No. This is a guy … He was No. 2 ranked on our board. We did not expect him to be there.”

(On how he anticipates using three quality tackles) – “This happened … Obviously, we weren’t expecting this, but it was an opportunity we had to take. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase … We’ll play the five best players (on the offensive line). At the end of the day, injuries happen. We went through that last year, last season. But this guy is going to be, probably, one of our top five players playing.”

(On the time they spent with Tunsil and if they thought about trading up to select him)   – “You do that because you talk about other things that have happened in the past. You never want to assume that ‘Oh this guy is going to be the first pick in the draft,’ and you never spend any time with him. We did that with (San Diego Chargers first-round pick DE) Joey Bosa last weekend. We wanted to make sure you always spend time and do your research on players, so we were comfortable with where he was and taking him.”

(On his understanding of the circumstances surrounding the Tunsil video and if he thinks it was a one-time thing) – “We know the story behind (the video). We’d rather leave that for maybe the kid to address, but we know the story behind it and we’re comfortable with what it is.”

(On the personality and character traits he likes about Tunsil) – “He’s a smart kid. He’s very football intelligent. We talked to the coaches and the staff there and when you go watch this guy practice and play, he loves ball. This guy is one of those grinders. There’s no doubt that this guy loves football and football is very important to him. So for us, we are very comfortable. And once you talk to him and spend a little time with him … I mean the coaches upstairs, the scouts, the room was jacked we got him.”

(On if Tunsil loves football more than he loves drugs) – “Yes.”

(On if Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross was consulted before the selection of Tunsil and if Ross had to sign off on it) – “He doesn’t have to sign off. We told him who we wanted to pick and he was all on board, and he was as excited as we were when we got him.”

(On if he sees Tunsil playing tackle right away, specifically left tackle) – “I’ll let the coaches figure that out, where he’s going to play. Like I said, they’ll put the five best guys on the field for us.”

(On if he made calls between the time the Tunsil video was released and selecting him or if he already had that information ahead of time) – “We had some information. But obviously once it happened, we called some people we know to check and just triple check and make sure. And obviously before you take anyone when a guy falls like that, we went back and we dug into the research again and just made sure.”

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