Myles Gaskin – July 27, 2021
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
RB Myles Gaskin
(With their actions, the Dolphins have shown their faith in you and you were 10th I believe in yards per game from scrimmage last year. Do you feel like there’s another level that you can get to in productivity and how much higher is it than where you were last year?) – “Absolutely. I just feel like I can work that much harder. I missed six games last year. I definitely worked on trying to be more healthy, be more available. I know that’s hard to do in the NFL but over this offseason, I’m just trying to prevent a lot of things and take care of my body the best I can.”
(you’ve mentioned that a lot of times – availability. Is your goal to play all 17?) – “Seventeen plus. You always want to go to the playoffs and do what you do; but yeah, definitely. You always want to be available. I love this game. I want to be available. Every Sunday I want to play football. Every practice I want to be out there. I just love the game.”
(During the draft process, maybe the outside thought the team would take a running back but was there communication with them like “hey this is our plan and you’re our guy. Be ready.” Did anything like that happen?) – “No, not really. I was talking to ‘Coach E’ (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville just talking because coach is a good dude and we have a really good friendship at this point. But nothing like that. I’ve never asked. He never said anything. I think I just have faith in myself so if we did, it is what it is. We didn’t, so it’s cool.”
(Were you expecting them to take a running back high?) – “No, that’s above my pay grade. I just take care of myself.”
(What are you performance goals for this year?) – “I write down my personal goals. I think you all asked Christian (Wilkins) this earlier but they’re my personal goals, so I’ll just keep them to myself.”
(Talking with RB Salvon Ahmed and your coach at Washington, Keith Bhonapha, he talked about he talked about you being a leader in that room and really taking on the responsibility of getting the rest of them up to speed. Now that you’re in Year 3 with the Dolphins, do you kind of feel more of that responsibility?) – “Definitely. Just being here and being with ‘Coach E’ (Eric Studesville) the last three years and being with ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) and knowing what they expect, being able to kind of show the younger guys that and the guys that haven’t been with him the past years – I guess me and Pat (Laird) are the only guys that have been here the past three years. Just trying to be able to relay the message is the biggest thing and being able to relay that message as a player is probably easier to go player-to-player than coach-to-player.”
(You mentioned Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville a couple of times. Can you describe what your relationship is with him and kind of how you all grew together?) – “Just like any other relationship, when you first come in as a rookie you’re wide-eyed. Obviously he was pushing me but he was definitely trying to teach me how to be a professional. I’ve taken heed to that. He’s been a great teacher, a great role model; and just in that sense, he’s coached a lot of great running backs and kind of given me stories on how they practice and how they prepare. I’m not trying to take their practice habits, but trying to implement them into how I go about my thing. I just take bits and pieces. He’s always been very wise for me to kind of learn from.”
(Is there a past running back or story that he’s told you that’s stuck with you the most?) – “Nah. He’s got a lot of stories. He’s been in the league for a long time so he’s got a lot of stories. (laughter) I know he was with Marshawn (Lynch) and that was always really cool for me because growing up in Seattle and he was playing for the Seahawks, he was kind of just a cool dude to know that he used to coach him. Hearing his stories here and there about him are fun to hear about.”
(I know you mentioned the Dolphins speed at receiver when you spoke with a Seattle station in the past month. Are you curious to see how much that opens the box for you and RB Malcolm Brown and RB Salvon Ahmed? It could potentially, right?) – “Yeah, definitely. I’m just excited for football. I’m excited for this camp. Obviously like I’ve said in the past, those guys are just fun to watch, just to watch them take off. I was a track guy when I was younger and I used to think I was fast but seeing those guys really take off, it’s fun to watch. Like I’ve said in the past, I’m excited for that. Yeah, it definitely could open the box but I’m just excited for football now.”
(You were one of the young guys who took a major second-year leap in your second season. What do you think contributed to that? What are some of the factors that allowed you to step up your game?) – “Just kind of keeping my head down and just trying to get that one percent better each and every day. Just kind of as a young dude, going to UW and even in high school, just trying to get that one percent better each and every day. It doesn’t happen overnight. It kind of comes to fruition and it came to fruition a little bit last year. Obviously like I said, I missed a couple of games – I missed six games. I’m still working on that one percent every single day. Just get better at something every single day.”
(You talked about your durability and being able to play 17-plus games. What goes into that? What have you added to your workout regime or rehab regiment that’s going to help you?) – “I’m definitely eating better this offseason. I’m eating a lot better and just working on my body, stretching, doing Pilates. I did a little bit of Pilates going into my second year. Then this year, I did a lot more Pilates. I’m just working on things and trying to be more flexible and more durable. Just working on everything and being more conscious of it too.”
(You’ve mentioned RB Marshawn Lynch. Were you kind of a student of the game growing up? Did you look at a bunch of other backs and if so, who did you kind of look up to?) – “Definitely. I was a student of the game. I watched them all. My favorite was ‘L.T.’ (LaDainian Tomlinson) growing up, definitely. But there are a ton that I’ve watched, even guys that are in the league now, just exciting to watch and I’m excited to learn from. Like I said, I love the game of football. You watch receivers, you watch DBs, I watch everybody. Just watching technique, how guys attack each and every day, attack games and stuff like that.”
(Was there one guy in particular that you kind of model yourself after?) – “When I was younger, I’d say ‘L.T.’ (LaDainian Tomlinson). Now that I’m older, I would just try to take a little bit of everybody. But definitely when I was younger, ‘L.T.’ was my dude. Reggie Bush obviously, everybody loves Reggie Bush when he was at USC. But those two guys come to mind at first.”
(Obviously this is a new scheme for you the third straight year – what stands out to you and what’s different about it?) – “We haven’t really gotten too much into it, obviously. We haven’t gotten on the field yet. But football is football. There are different play calls but inside zone is inside zone, gap scheme is gap scheme. It’s all the same. It’s just kind of how the plays are called, how things are ran and just like I said, it ain’t too much different. Football is football.”
(You’re the one player who will benefit from the improvement you get from the second year of the offensive line. What have you seen from them so far that makes you have more optimism that they’ll be more successful this year?) – “You said it, just that second year. Being a guy that had a jump from year one to year two, I’m just excited for all of those guys – Austin Jackson, Solomon Kindley, everybody in that room. It’s just a step that is going to come, obviously, because when you come in as a rookie, I think people don’t really understand that you’re moving from your family, you’re moving to this brand new place, a brand new facility and stuff like that. Just kind of adjusting to this dream that you had and now it’s not so much a dream, it’s a reality. I think that next year, that second year, is when you hone in and take that real leap. It’s going to come for those guys and like you said, I’m just excited for them.”
(In OTAs, coach mentioned that it’s more and more of a passing camp. You can’t really run up there and hit. As a running back without any contact, what can you do to make your game better in those practices?) – “Just work as much as I can on spacing with routes and all of that type of stuff. Being able to play in different positions or just be where I need to be. Definitely the mental aspect of it – when there isn’t too much banging around, you just have to hone into your mental and make sure you get all of the mental reps and make sure you’re able to communicate with the coaches, make sure you’re able to communicate with the other guys, and what they see and what you need to see and stuff like that. You’re just kind of learning defenses too obviously. We have that time right now with the first five days or whatever it is with no pads; but just kind of learn everything you can to just soak it all in because when you put the pads on, you’re really banging.”
(This time last year there was an uncertainty about the season and maybe a lot of question marks. Now you’re back with these guys, maybe a little more normalcy. Can you describe the energy coming into the building today?) – “I’m excited man. It’s a great feeling we got this year. For everybody, not just football but for everybody in all aspects of life. So getting back to normalcy like you said is just huge. I was in Seattle for most of COVID, so when I went back home last time, it’s just nice to see people getting back to normal and stuff like that. Definitely getting back to regular life.”
(RB Malcolm Brown, what’s it like having him around, and what can he add to the running backs room?) – “Definitely experience. He’s been in the league going on year seven or six, I’m not quite sure. But just having an older guy I can talk to – last year we had a few older guys, but I’m excited to have his knowledge, his wisdom. I’m excited to just bounce ideas off of him and seeing that he’s been around for a long time, I know he’s got a lot to say, a lot to preach to us.”
