Minkah Fitzpatrick – May 11, 2018
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Friday, May 11, 2018
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick
(I think the team indicated they were a little surprised that you lasted to No. 11 for them to be able to get on draft night. Were you a little surprised as well?) – “No, I wasn’t surprised. I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew I could go as early as No. 4 and I knew I could go as late as No. 32. So whatever happened, happened. I was just excited just to be there and I’m happy that the Dolphins picked me up.”
(What was going through your mind during those first 10 picks?) – “Nothing, really. I was just … Like I said, anybody could have picked me and anybody could have passed up on me. So I was just talking to my family, talking to Coach (Nick) Saban, talking to everybody. (I was) just enjoying the moment.”
(You weren’t going No. 32 though.) – “I didn’t know. (laughter)”
(Can you take us through what your night was like with your family in Dallas?) – “At first we had gotten all dressed up and took some pictures at the hotel with my family and some friends. After that, me and my parents drove over to … Well, they drove us over to the stadium from the hotel. Then we went to the red carpet, did a bunch of interviews on the red carpet and took some pictures on the red carpet with my parents and some of my friends. Then after that, we just walked inside. They put us in the green room, I think it was called, and we were just sitting at the table with my parents, my siblings and a couple of my coaches. That was about it. We just waited it out.”
(Was there one ‘wow’ moment? Obviously getting drafted was your ‘wow’ moment but was there somebody you met or somebody you talked to that night that was incredible for you?) – “I mean the whole night was incredible. It’s something that you really just dream about. I was just excited just to be there. The whole entire time, I was just taking it all in and just enjoying everything.”
(The Dolphins obviously like the versatility that you bring. What do you hope to bring to the team and what do you think you can bring to this defense?) – “I’m just going to be myself and do what I have to do. I talked to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase, I talked to (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Matt) Burke and they all said the same thing: ‘Just be yourself. Do what you’ve got to do to become your best self,” and with that, I’m going to help this team out. Whether that be pushing myself, challenging myself in ways that I usually do, that’s going to better the people around me because they’re going to want to do the same thing. So it’s just doing what I have to do to be the best possible version of myself and that’s going to overall benefit the team. That’s it, really.”
(What does it mean that you’re on a team where you’re going to be playing with a veteran Pro Bowl safety like Reshad Jones and then S T.J. McDonald, who has been an established player as a starter?) – “It definitely helps out because I can go to them for anything. I can ask them about off-the-field stuff, I can ask them about on-the-field stuff. I can just soak it all in and learn from both of them and a couple of other guys and a couple of other vets. That’s it, really. Just sitting underneath their wings, grow underneath them and whatever happens, happens.”
(Those who are here that covered Nick Saban when he was the head coach of the Dolphins – I happened to be here – know that he doesn’t dish out compliments to the manner that he spoke about you very often. How do you react to that and how does that make you feel?) – “It’s a major compliment coming from him. Like you said, he doesn’t give them out often. He’s had a lot of great players come underneath him and he hasn’t said too much about them so when you receive a compliment from him, it means a lot. I’m honored to have played for him. I learned a lot from him. I’ve just got to live up to his compliments. I can’t let it get to my head. I’ve just got to keep on pushing forward, receive it, and that’s it.”
(You played very quickly at Alabama, so obviously you were able to digest whatever it is that the coaches threw at you. How different is what the Dolphins do from Alabama, and how is it that you’re able to digest that stuff pretty quickly?) – “It’s not too much different. It’s almost the same exact defense. There are a couple of wrinkles here and there. Of course, the terminology is different, so I have to learn terminology; but football is football. It doesn’t really change too much within one season. I just learn it by doing it – processing things, learning the concepts and not just trying to memorize things because when you know the concepts, you know what everyone else is doing around you. It helps you out. That’s what I try to do.”
(What do you expect of yourself as a rookie in your rookie season? As in starts or participation – on the field.) – “I’m just going out there and working my hardest every day, challenging the people around me and challenging myself. Whatever happens, happens.”
(Would you be disappointed if you’re not a major contributor or a starter?) – “I mean I would like to be. I don’t think anybody doesn’t want to play; but if I’m not that … I hope to be the best out there. I’m going to work to be the best out there so I can contribute to the team.”
(What have the coaches already said to you about how they would like to utilize you in this scheme?) – “Just to start off and keep learning the defensive backfield, whether it be at the nickel spot or the safety spot. They’re just making calls to make sure I’m learning the defense and whatever happens, happens.”
(There’s a story out there that you were showing up to games like six hours before the game to watch film. How often would you do that and why did you feel the need to do that?) – “I thought that was a common practice that people did. I thought that people just watched film before the games. I would either watch it in my hotel room on the iPad or I would go in before meetings and just watch film in the meeting rooms, just breaking down some small stuff, going over formations, going over different plays and stuff like that. I just assumed everybody did (that).”
(Did you always feel the need to go the extra mile and do extra beyond what was required?) – “Yes. You should always do that. If you’re going to be great, you’ve always got to do extra. There’s no extraordinary without extra. This is just what I’ve always done.”
(You seem like a pretty humble guy but do you let yourself think about things like rookie defensive player of the year and stuff like that? Is that a goal for you?) – “My goal is just to work hard every single day and become better every single day. With that comes things like that. I just go day-to-day just challenging myself and pushing myself and the people around me. With that comes the other things. If that happens to be one of them that comes along then that’s it.”
(I can’t remember if you talked about this on draft night or not but how friendly are you with RB Kenyan Drake?) – “Kenyan? I’m good friends with him. I talked to him the first day I got here. We were in the facility and we were just chopping it up, talking to him and Maurice Smith also – the other DB. I was talking to him for a little while, just asking him questions and picking his brain. He was talking to me and just telling me what to do and what not to do.”
(Did RB Kenyan Drake or anyone else give you some good pointers on how to survive here and how to do well here?) – “They just told me to be myself and do what I did at Alabama. They know how it was and they know how I stepped in and did my thing. I didn’t really change for anybody. I just worked hard. They just said, ‘Do what you did there and you’re going to be alright.’”
(I know you’ve played on the boundary. I know you’ve played nickel. I know you’ve played free safety. I’m not sure if you played both safety spots; but where do you think, as a football player, your home is?) – “On the football field.”
(Well played.) – “That’s it. (laughter)”
(Could you be that center field guy that can get red line to red line when necessary?) – “Yes, sir. I believe so.”
(A lot of people talk about your work ethic and you were touching on that earlier. Can you remember a time when you were young where you didn’t have that drive in you? Were you ever lazy? Or have you always been like this?) – “I mean as a kid, I don’t think any kid knows what hard work is. (laughter) I did have to grow up at a young age. My family has been through some things. I was about 13 or 14. I just grew up in a blue-collar home. My father was a mechanic. My mother, she worked at a clothing store in the warehouse. I just grew up … It was instilled in me just to work hard. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, whether it be stuff on the field or off the field. It’s just been in my blood since I was young. I just carry it over to football.”
(How much of being displaced by Hurricane Irene play a role in you growing up faster and being so mature?) – “I mean that was the main reason I had to grow up fast. I had to start working with my father and a couple of other jobs that not every 14-year-old is doing. They’re usually playing in the backyard or something like that while I was at work until 12 o’clock at night. Like I said, it was just instilled in me. I couldn’t complain. I had to do it because I knew I had to help my parents out and help my family out. Definitely that was the main reason why I had to work, was because of the displacement from the hurricane.”
(What jobs did you have at 14?) – “So my father, he was a diesel mechanic. So I worked with him. Also, we would do some construction and plumbing with a family firm.”
(So can you change the oil of a car?) – “Yes, I could.”
(Can you change brakes on a car?) – “I’ve never changed brakes before. If my dad showed me what to do, I could do it right after him.”
(How much can you diagnose what’s going on in a car?) – “My father does most of the diagnosing. He’d say, ‘Hey man, do this, this and this,’ and I would just do it.”
(You haven’t signed your contract yet so you haven’t been paid, but how much does reaching this level and finally … You’re in the NFL. When you think about to those times back in your youth with the family, how much does that affect you as far as you’re going to raise them up? You’ve accomplished something for them.) – “In that sense, when it comes to my family, it’s definitely an awesome opportunity. I’m definitely going to purchase a home for my family – a home that’s going to be their home that can’t be taken away from them and can’t be whatever. It’s going to be their home. It’s going to just be awesome being able to provide them; but being in the NFL wasn’t the end goal. I wanted to be a great player in the NFL, a legendary player in the NFL. I’ve made it to this part of the journey but there’s a whole lot more left to go.”
(About being a great player, great plays make great plays.) – “Yes, sir.”
(You have a history of doing the extra turnovers, touchdowns…) – “I just do my job. When you do your job, you make plays.”
(I hear that you’re a very spiritual guy and your family is a very religious family. Where does that come from?) – “I’d say again, just from being through a lot as a family. We had to sit together as a family and our foundation is built on our relationship with Christ. Without that, we definitely wouldn’t be where we are today, because we would have leaned on other things to get us through what we’ve been through. Definitely our foundation is built on Christ.”
(Is there a player currently in the NFL that you watch that you maybe model your game after? If so, who would that be and why?) – “It was kind of hard, especially this past season, because I just moved around a whole lot and there weren’t a lot of people doing that, especially in the NFL. I just try to take a little bit from the top guys at their position, whether that be Patrick Peterson, Malcolm Jenkins, Eric Berry, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas – all of those different guys. I just look at them with my coach. That’s how I learned a lot of technique at safety and at nickel. I just watched guys do it and I just implement it into my game.”
(You trained at EXOS with TE Mike Gesicki, a fellow New Jersey guy. Are you guys close or did you ever have conversations about maybe winding up with the same team in the NFL?) – “We talked. We talked a little bit. We were busy a whole lot just working out and training, so there wasn’t too much conversation; but yes, he’s a great dude and a great player. I’m excited to get to work with him.”
