Isaiah Ford – June 13, 2018
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018
WR Isaiah Ford
(We haven’t had a chance to talk to you since the injury last August. How did it happen? Did you know right away it was serious?) – “It happened just running a slant. I was going against Tony Lippett and I joke with him a bunch because he got hurt about a week or so right after I did. I just made a plant that I’ve made a ton of times and me and him kind of collided a little bit and I kind of felt it. Once I finished the route, I sensed that it didn’t feel right; but I pushed through it and finished the day off and practice the next day as well. After that, it was stiff on me and I was like something is not right here. That’s when the swelling started to show and we had the test done and it showed I had the tear.”
(What was the actual injury?) – “It was the meniscus.”
(How has the rehab and recovery gone? How do you feel now compared to a year ago?) – “Rehab has been great, I don’t even think about it anymore at all. That’s a great testament to our great strength staff and our training staff. I had some really good guys in there rehabbing with me as well.”
(LB Raekwon McMillan and QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “Yes. I think Raekwon did a story about how competitive that was in there. I think that helped us push through some of those dark days where we really didn’t feel like rehabbing or we were kind of down on ourselves that we wanted to play and things like that. To have Ryan there as a leader to help us push through it was really huge for both of us.”
(Were there any competitive games that you guys used to play?) – “(laughter) We have this machine, it’s call BFR – it’s blood flow restriction. It’s like a Velcro strap that you put around your leg and you use it around both of your legs. It inflates and it’s almost cutting off your circulation to a point, and you work out with it. So it’s maximum effort but you don’t have any weight. We would ride the bike for 10 minutes and we would see who could get the furthest. It was kind of suicidal but it ended up going on for a while and our trainer stopped it because he got a little scared because each time the next person was trying to beat that score and whoever set the highest score, whoever was up next, you had to beat it. It was fun though. It was a lot of fun.”
(Who was the champion?) – ‘I think Raekwon (McMillan) was the last to go, so I think he had the record. They stopped us right then, so no one else got the chance to go again after Raekwon beat it.”
(How would you describe your confidence level right now in terms of your belief that you will make the team and contribute?) – “I’m extremely confident. I’ve had a year to just pick everyone’s brain, so to say, just to learn and understand the terminology, the language and what the coaches are expecting and how they want things done. I think just spending all of that time and having the confidence in myself and my abilities that the Lord has given me, I’m extremely confident.”
(How excited were you to start OTAs this spring after having to miss last year?) – “Extremely excited! Thinking back on the first day of OTAs, it kind of put everything back into perspective of just appreciating the game because a sudden play, just like that, a routine play that I’ve done a million times over and over again, had caused for my season to be over. I couldn’t wait to get back out there and it’s been a long time coming.”
(This spring, what percentage would you say you’ve practiced in the slot and about what percentage would you say you’ve practiced outside?) – “It’s been so, so. I’ve spent a bunch of time inside and a bunch of time outside, as well. Just being ready for wherever they decide to put me. I’m comfortable playing both, which is a good thing. I think it a good thing to always be versatile to play inside and outside.”
(How experienced are you as a slot receiver?) – “I’ve played in the slot a bunch in high school, a bunch in college as well – my freshman and sophomore year and a little bit my junior year. I played mostly outside my junior year, but I’ve gotten a bunch of experience inside also.”
(Where’s the difference in terms of that position? How do you explain the difference between being a flanker or a split end versus being a slot?) – “I think in the slot, you have a little more freedom (and) a little more wiggle room in terms of your releases, your routes and how you get to break and maneuver and things like that. Then, a lot of the times you’re going against either smaller corners or against linebacker and safeties and things like that.”
(Obviously you wanted to play last year, but your redshirt year, so to call it, how much did it benefit or how much can you learn by watching or did you learn anything?) – “I think that it helped me a ton. I got to spend a full year just listening to our coaches and how they taught everything and how they wanted to be ran. I got to learn the playbook for a year and I got to learn from some of our veteran guys and some of the guys that were here last year. I think that just learning from them and asking those guys questions and then seeing the things on film, then going to some of the games and watching them on the sidelines, I got to see how everything works before I actually ran through it. I thought that was pretty good for me.”
(Physically, you look physically bigger than you did last year. How much different is your body this year from last year?) – “I got to put on a little bit of weight. It was good weight as well. I think me and (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) Dave (Puloka) spent a lot of time together just working hard on being functionally strong as well, not just blowing up and getting stiff and things like that – being able to move and still have that flexibility.”
(There’s an awful lot of depth at the wide receiver position on the team. What skill and part of your game do you think will be your ticket to the 53-man roster?) – “Just being available whenever my number is called on. My job is to go out there and compete, to execute and to know my job, to know where I’m supposed to be and to be where I’m supposed to be when I’m supposed to be there, and let all of those things sort themselves out. I think if I just focus on doing what I have to do, doing my job, I’ll be fine.”
(Just to build off of that, there are obviously four veteran receivers who are going to be on the team barring injury. Then you have WR Jakeem Grant. Do you think about the numbers game of “Okay, are they going to keep six receivers?” Does that thought go through your mind?) – “No. I don’t think about any of that. I think that’s for (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase and (Assistant Head Coach/Offense) Coach (Shawn) Jefferson and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Mike Tannenbaum and (General Manager) Mr. (Chris) Grier. I think that’s for all of those guys. I leave all of that stuff to them. I focus on knowing my craft, studying my craft and being the best that I can be.”
(Dolphins fans probably have never seen you play. They’ve probably YouTubed you and watched a few highlight plays where you ran past the Canes guys or something; but fill the fans in a little bit about on-field your strengths, what you believe they are.) – “I think that I’m a competitor first and foremost. I want to win at everything that I do. 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 I pride myself on is being really good in and out of my breaks and running really good routes.”
