K.J. Britt – March 24, 2025
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Monday, March 24, 2025
LB K.J. Britt
(Obviously you’ve had starting experience with the 11 games in Tampa and before that. Did the Dolphins give you any idea if you’ll be in the mix to compete for a starting spot? Obviously they have LB Jordyn Brooks and LB Tyrel Dodson as well. Also what do you like about Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver’s defense?) – “Coach Weaver, man, I was just looking at his defense. He runs a good defense versus base – 3-4 and then sub 4-2-5. I’m just grateful for this opportunity to just come play football. For me, I view the game a little different from guys. I love the game so much; I just can’t wait to get down there and get to Miami and help this team however I can help them. Ready to win some games.”
(Has what your role would be come up? Have they mentioned competing for a starting job or was it not mentioned at all?) – “They really didn’t say so. I’m just really excited to get down there.”
(Let’s imagine that it’s fourth-and-1 at the Dolphins 1-yard line and it’s in the fourth quarter and the opponent is probably going to run the ball. Imagine that situation and tell me what’s going through your mind.) – “We got to get off the field, win the game. As a linebacker in this league, you’ve got to have some killer instinct. So fourth-and-1, they come out in heavy personnel, I know they’re going to run the ball, so it’s balls to the wall to make sure the defense gets the call and let’s play.”
(I noticed that LB Anthony Walker Jr. and yourself, you guys traded places. He goes to Tampa and you come from Tampa. Do you have a house that you can sell him?) – “I’m going to keep my house, man. (laughter)”
(What about him, does he have a house that you can buy?) – “I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to Anthony (Walker Jr.), so I don’t really know him like that but congrats to him.”
(You mentioned the skill set that you bring, I just wanted to ask a little bit more about that. What was it about the Dolphins defense that made you think like, ‘Oh, I can add this to this,’ what is it specifically?) – “It’s real similar to where I’m coming from. I’ve been in Tampa the last four years. I’m really comfortable in the 3-4; 4-2-5, it’s the same. It’s going to be different terminology, I know the learning curve, but it’s going to be something that I’m comfortable doing. It’s not a 4-3 or something like that where I learn a different scheme. It’s going to be something that’s real familiar to me so I’m excited about that.”
(You come with a reputation of being an aggressive player, a run stopper. Tell me about that mentality, where does it come from? How does it benefit you in the NFL?) – “I guess it comes from – I’ve been playing linebacker since I was five years old, throughout high school, college and now the NFL. I’m from Alabama. Alabama was a really heavy run high school league that we were in, so just stopping the run is something that my head coach always used to instill in us linebackers. Just playing ball, loving ball and just using all of my resources. There’s so many other great linebackers out there who play their game. Whatever you’re good at, there is always room for improvement in each and everything that we do. If you’re good at something, it helps you. Like I said, I guess my pedigree.”
(I’m doing something else on draft day experiences and I’m asking guys about their draft day experience. You’re interesting to me because if I’m not mistaken, your junior year at Auburn was really good, All-SEC, but you only played two games as a senior, didn’t play much as a freshman or sophomore. Tell me about your draft day experience, tell me about how important the Pro Day was, how much pressure was on you, was it a good draft night experience? Were you disappointed? Tell me about that.) – “I was ecstatic, grateful. Like you said I really only played one year of college ball. When I played that year, like you said, I was All-SEC. We were a good defense, everybody on that defense had a shot to play in the NFL. I think it’s still seven or eight of us in the NFL from that defense, so just being a part of that, and like I said, that was my year. That was my time to shine. I sat my freshman and sophomore years because the room was older before me. I played a little bit my sophomore year and started rotating in, and like I said my junior year was my spot. My senior year, I had a draft grade to come out my junior year after I played in 2019 and they were saying I could be a third round or so. I wanted to get my degree so I went back to school and got my degree in business management with a focus in supply chain. I was excited for my senior year and it didn’t go as planned. I tore my UCL in my thumb and ended up having to have my whole hand repaired, so it just put me down. I still put my name in the draft, still got some good information, some good feedback from the league and I got drafted in the fifth round. I was excited. Like I said, I get to live out my dream. It doesn’t matter how you get there, everybody’s story is not going to be the same. Everybody’s story is not going to be picture perfect or clear. This was my story; I was excited for it and grateful that God blessed me with this opportunity. I wish I could feel what I felt that day every day, and I’d be all right.”
(Just a question about the lessons that you learned from past playoff experiences. What’s some things that you find can be the difference between being a playoff caliber team and one trying to get over the hump?) – “Playoff caliber teams, it’s a player-led teams. Coaches can put everybody in the right spot, but if the players don’t want to play, it’s going to be all on us. Everybody has got to come together as one and get the job done week-in and week-out. We always got to come ready to work. It’s a lot to go into it because it’s a sacrifice. There’s no cool guy status, everybody has just got to play ball. That’s one thing that just being in the playoffs the last four years and playing in a lot of playoff games – everybody in the league has that formula and it works. Everybody has just got to come together and be as one and play ball.”
(There was a perception around the league – we’ve heard from former players on social media, even current players – that this Dolphins team, defense specifically, can be soft, can play soft. As a linebacker, what is your responsibility to change that tone and make sure that that is not how the team or that side of the ball is coming across?) – “Want to. That’s how you play the game physical, that’s really not something you talk about – you got to want to. Coming from my background and looking at how we play ball in little league, it doesn’t change. My dad was my little league coach. He preached physicality because the one thing about this game is if you hit somebody in the mouth – everybody has got a plan until they get hit. You can kill a lot of noise with the tone that you set, and it’s something that we’re looking forward to.”
