Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins.
Now, let me check your pulse if you're not.
What is up? Dolphins?
And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, you know what time it is.
It's the annual undrafted free agent rookie breakdown with the great Emery Hunt, plus the head football coach at the University of South Carolina, Shane Beemer, stops by the talk some Campsmith with us all of that in a heck of a lot more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drift Time Podcast. Heye, gaff, you've got a busy show. Let's jump right in joining
us today. Well, it's a tradition unlike any other rookie mini campus in the books, and that means it's time to bring on our guest for one of my favorite episodes every single year here on Drive Time. You guys know the deal from CBS Sports HQ, the man who probably has a grade on you as you listen to this podcast, The hardest working man in the draft industry. Emery Hunt, Emery, what's good man?
Nothing much, Man, I appreciate you as always. Bring me on, man, this has been fun. I love talking Dolphins football because we get to see the process at the end.
Yeah. Absolutely, It's been a really since I came on board in twenty twenty, like the Dolphins kind of you know, reset the deck as it were, with the roster, and you've helped us really kind of get to know that the building process behind that and this. You know, I was looking up some of your work in preparation for this podcast, and like there's so many players that only you have a report on or cover, and it's just
that's why you're the perfect guest for this. But I do want to ask you this, man, because like you're always working, So please tell me you're going on vacation this week or at least sometime in the near future, I guess.
I mean, actually, you know, on Tuesday, I'll be going up to Canada because it's my chance to get the twenty twenty four o'clock started up in Hamilton, Ontario. You know they play there. It's the East West Bowl, the U Sports the East West Bowl. They play their Senior Bowl before their season because you can't really do anything after November. They hate Canada because of the weather, so they get their all College All Stars out there in May.
So that's why I'm going up there to Hamilton for the three days.
And watch the practices and then hopping over to Detroit to catch some USFL action too, because again those are some prospects.
They may end up on NFL rosters as well. Well.
The grind never sleeps, my man. I thought you were going to say, Bahamas, I was helping you. Would you get down to a beach somewhere and have a my tire too, But nope, the grind never stops. Man's going up north of Canada to check out some CFL Senior Bowl man are just not CFL, just Canada Canada.
Yeah, but it's all Canadian prospects.
It's all from the U sports up there, which is there n Cuba really cool?
Yeah, we mean are one of our best players, the Snowman, Javon Holland, comes from Canada. So you can definitely find some great prospects up north there. And again our regulars here on the podcast, Emery know your resume, but I love hearing this side of your story. Really every year, I want to know, like the why behind your knowledge
in college football and why it's so vast. Tell the people if you can real quick here, you know what the I mean, you just kind of told us a little bit, but what the season looks like and all the games that you call? How do you get yourself you know, this widespread knowledge of prospects that just not that many folks know about.
Well, again, if you're going to do this part of the job, the draft analyst part, you got to be out there in the trenches. And you know, I call games during the football season. I call college football games. I call a lot of Morgan State games, Georgetown games, Mamath games. You know, some call it a lot of FCS games. So I'm always noticing these FCS prospects during the football season. The fall football season, I'm covering the NFL.
You see me at different training camps. You see me during the week on CBS Sports talking about NFL games, talking about college football games.
Outside of the games that I cover.
So I really don't get into the draft until January when I'm at these all Star games, and I've gone to all eight this offseason, all eight All Star game I was at. So now I'm getting that process that started. Now I've said this before where I'm getting eyes on these players before I get back into my lab in
my studio and get eyes on the film. So I'm going the entire month of January, then in February, usually the week of the Super Bowl, which is why you never see me on CBS during the week at the Super Bowl because I'm back home and locked into grading prospects.
So from February.
To the until I'm done, it's just NonStop, twelve hour days, five am, wake up, five thirty, you start, You're done it six six thirty, and then you do it again the next day until you get all one thousand prospects or over a thousand prospects done.
So no one, if you have the discipline, it can be done.
But again, so I'm always around, always watching ball, always, you know, finding different things here and there. And I also call high school games too, So yeah, a lot of my football is related from you know, start to finish, and that's how we get everything done.
So if you see a signing on a Tuesday in October, you're not sure who the play is, just type in that player's name next to Emory Hunt, you'll probably find a scouting report on that guy. Because with a thousand scouting reports, I have to imagine you're checking every box for every player that enters this league. And what a great resource that is for us here on the podcast.
Sometimes I do draft content early in the calendar, like you talked about there January February, and some of the listeners are like, man, just wait until we know who's dolphins, because like this is you know, you're talking about one hundred guys and maybe two of them become Dolphins. That's why this is a great resource for us to have here is now we do have that focus and specifically guys that are going to be on this team or be in camp with this team and see how they
fit here. And before we get to the main event, Emory, one of our annual traditions with you at the combine is our chat we do there and we usually dive into the running back position, and every year I've got you diving deep into your grades to tell me about a Day three pick or maybe even a potential UDFA during that portion of the calendar. But this year, this year, it's a little bit different. Emory. We went shopping in the third round and came back with a dude devon
a chain. I wanted to get you take on his game. What he brings to this Dolphins offense.
Explosiveness, and it goes along with what they already have in the backfield. You see the difference with you know, a guy like Mostert and Wilson. Now you've got a
chain back there. A chain has a legit track and field speed and when you make things clearer for him, which this offense will do, because the lanes will be a little bit you know, clearer for him than they were at Texas A and M. At Texas A and M, the reason why he was so phenomenal to watch was because they were running traditional you know, downhill ice so you know type looks and you know ie formation you know classic Texas A and M football back in the day.
But you know, so he had to work hard for his yards, which he had a lot of them. In this offense, he's going to be able to have a little bit more freedom to really get going before he attacks that line of scrimmage, and once he plants his foot in the ground, is able to accelerate. No one is going to accelerate like him because he has that ridiculous home run speed. And again we're talking about someone that almost touched FO two running a forty yard dash.
This is legit speed we're talking about here. When you get someone like that, This is why a lot of guys probably projected certain backs to go to Miami, because they understand when you have that type of speed here with this offense, anytime you're able to hit that cutback, you're probably going to hit your head on.
The goal post.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
We saw, you know, a lot of folks talking about what the speed of a Chamill looked like in Miami prior to the draft, and now we get a chance to look at it with rookie Minnie camp and into OTAs here. But I'm curious because you know, Emory we talk of all the time. The reason we have you on for running backs is because you played the position, and so I have to imagine in high school you probably play a linebacker.
Two. Is that accurate?
Absolutely not, Man, I didn't play any defense. Was the last time I played defense in high school was ninth grade. I played corner and after that I was like, I'm just gonna stick to playing running back, receiver and returning punts. There was no defense in my blood at all.
Okay, but I was just saying.
He was just saying, there's crossover.
Usually running backs play linebacker, quarterbacks play safety, Corners play receiver, O line, plate D line, so there's some familiarity with how one thinks on the other side.
That's where I was going with that, because you know, you talk about the speed of Everyone knows about Tyreek Hill Jalen Wallad that went for three thousand yards can bind last year. So I'm curious from the running backs perspective and kind of how it influences that second level of the defense because I keep thinking about how, you know, the Niners game last is a good example of Fred Warner just being one of one type of player, an
absolute freak that can cover so much ground. And he talked a little bit about getting extra range and that kind of intermediate portion of the passing game against the Dolphins and disrupt some of those inbreaking routes in the intermediate portion. But a player like Raheemosert for instance, or adding devon a chain, how does that added speed expand that zone for the middle of the defense.
Man it's hard because naturally, when you're facing speed, you want to give it a little bit more space to give yourself a chance to turn and run with it. But when speed is also that supposed to be, it's also now a company in the backfield.
You can't get too far, you can't get too.
Ahead of yourself, because you're now really being threatened you in all directions, you know, whether it's vertically or Horizonmilye. And so you have to be judicious and you know, decisive and precise with your angles that you take, because any false step or any bad angle, it's over. And we saw this play out in the passing game with the Dolphins, you know, and how many teams took bad angles. How many teams thought they had good angles but they
really didn't. And so now when you think about a divan a chain, you know, getting outside on screens, or you know, getting a sprint draw where that's one of the best plays for guys like him to run where now it's just like a straight burst and he makes one cut and he's not able to lose He doesn't lose acceleration either. It is just it's tough when you think about how someone like that has all of that type of capability.
It's reminds me of in baseball, like you have a guy that throws a nine nine out fastball then has an eighty mile an hour change up. Like how we're supposed to react to either of those two things. You better be guessing and guessing right on those. You talk about the poor angles, I mean, we saw waddle and
back to back games last year. I think it was a sixty four yard touchdown and an eighty four yard touchdown where there was one bad angle from a safety and it was lights out showing your tail lights, young man.
So that's I mean.
I can't wait to see it happen here on the field for the Miami Dolphins. Before we go to the break here and go to the second segment talking about the UDFA class. This is a theme I've been talking about.
I probably even asked you the combine back in February that I forget, but I've been asking everybody that I could about how a second year in a system can benefit an offense because you know, going back to Shanahan and McDaniel in their entire track record, every single time they got somewhere new that second season, the offense had a big kind of climb forward, and this year for the Dolphins, they've had the sixth best offense from a yards per game perspective last year, and that was with
you know, injuries that tackle like crazy, the quarterback position having all kinds of attrition. I just look at the potential for the stealing to raise even higher for this offense. I'm curious how you think that the second year in Mike McDaniel's system can really benefit all these incumbents coming back for the Miami Dolphins offense.
It's because what you saw last year was physical speed, but now you're going to see mental speed in year two. And when you're mentally locked in with what you're doing and you're now able to combine that with play speed, everything's going to happen faster. And so that's why you see the jump. Now guys know what they're supposed to do, they know what they expect, they don't have to think
about it, and now they're playing even faster. So imagine those fast guys playing even faster, and that's what you got. That's why you see such significant jump. So this could still be one of the fastest and also more explosive offenses you'll see in the NFL, and you have.
To imagine that every single week it just gets better and better and you get deeper and deeper into that massive playbook of Mike McDaniel from that Kyle Shanahan tree. So we can't wait to see it. Man, We've got plenty of guys to talk about here. With Emry Hunt, we're going to break down the entire Dolphins UDFA class here. That's next on the Draft Podcast again my guest Emory Hunt, brought to you by Auto Nation. All Right, the time has come now for the second segment here with my
guest Emory Hunt. You can find his work at CBS Sports HQ, at f Ball, Game Plan, on Twitter, and a various various other places out there that he does all of his great work for.
And I do want to finally.
Now pivot to the UDFA class for the twenty twenty three Miami Dolphins and really cover this group of players that are here in camp getting ready to go for the season for the summer. You're two for two the last couple of years here, Emory, actually technically three for three because last year and I remember, I specifically remember the way you responded when I asked you last year, I think it was our DM chat. I was like, who do you like? And you know like Cater and
Brelan Sanders. I'm like, all right, good enough, we'll talk about it on the podcast. And they joined Robert Jones, who you were glowing about on our twenty twenty one podcast.
So let's go ahead and list.
Off the twenty one UDFA signed with the Dolphins this year and start with Mitchell Agude, the Miami prospect, quarterback James Blackman, cornerback Ethan Bonner. Chris Brooks is a running back from BYU, Randy Charlton, the dn wide receivers Chris Coleman and Daywood Davis, tight end Julian Hill from Campbell.
We also have got Aubrey Miller, the linebacker from Jackson State, tackles Anthony Montalvo and Brandon Peely, linebacker Garrett Nelson, safety Kedrin Smith, tackle James Tunstall, punter Michael Turk, offensive lineman Alama Lave, linebacker Zeke Vanderberg, and safety Bennett Williams. Emery who off that list jumps out at you.
Well, initially James Blackman because I saw him down at the College Gradion Showcase.
He was fantastic. Man.
I think you forgot that he was still in college, you know, playing ball. He was at Arkansas State now, but he was a longtime Florida State guide in transferred to Arkansas State, played.
Really well for the Red Wolves.
I thought he had a really good week at the College Gradion Showcase. And he's someone that could be a developmental guy on that roster. We know they're not going to keep for QBS, but I feel like he could make that team in terms of being on their practice squad. Christopher Brooks had a really good Hula Bowl week out of BYU physical one cut downhill runner fits the mold of what could be potentially a four minute offense, short
yarded guy because he was excellent. I think he went over one hundred yards in the Hulabow game as well. And going back to, you know, on the defensive side of the ball, looking at some of these names, it's funny because when you see Garrett Nelson and you look at Andrew Van Ginko, you see body type, you know, stylistic type comparisons that a guy that can be a sambacker can also put his hand in a dirt and rush the passer. That's why I like Nelson. I feel
like Nelson still has that crossover ability. Vandenburg out of Illinois State was one of the better defensive edge guys at the FCS level. Fantastic point of a tech tech player. Also another one that's built just like Garrett Nelson what he can do as well. Miller was phenomenal for Jackson State. You know, he's someone that's a thumper. At this one game that really stood out, it was the Bathune Cookman game.
I want to say it was like a third in about three he stuffs to run on third and three and he gets his noge like fourth in about a half a yard.
They run the same play again.
He is able to break through and just blow up the back in the backfield, no gain, turn the worn down. So it's those type of plays, impactful plays in the run game. And he had those type of impactful plays at the Senior Bowl. I thought every day at the Senior Bowl, down a mobile, he got better and better. Kedrin Smith out of Kentucky loved the combo ability. Could
play either safety spot. We know at this juncture of football we're talking about positionless ball on the back end, and Smith is someone that can feel that void, whether it's playing either safety spot or playing shallow in zone coverage.
He can do that as well. So I kind of like what they've done looking at this class as a whole. So again, this is what you want as a coach.
You want to stock pile talent, and if you're a GM, you want to stock pile talent. And then this is also the part that you hated as a g and as a coach because you're going to have to make some tough decisions because you have a lot of talent across the board.
Last year was I thought one of the tougher cuts the Dolphins have had in a long time. And I think this year is even tougher because you talk about
this list of players. They've got guys like you mentioned that played pretty well at the college level, have good experience here, and you're really looking for I mean, I think most teams probably feel this way, but for the Dolphins, I mean, forty five, forty eight of the roster spots probably mostly spoken for right now, just based upon what they accomplished last year, who they brought in this offseason in terms of big ticket free agents, and just rounding
this roster out for the last four or five years in a way that's built almost to this moment where all right, you've got a really competitive roster here in a tough AFC. But I want to go back to the players you mentioned here and just kind of ask you follow ups on these guys. So with James Blackman, I think everyone knows that name from Florida State because he played a lot of football there, transfers like you
mentioned to Arkansas State there. I'm curious about how his experience at the college level and so many reps that he got, which can really be so valuable for a rookie, how that kind of helps him. And then also the idea of how his skills might translate to a Mike McDaniel offense, because I'm watching some some clips of him here, just pulled him up on Twitter for instance, and man.
He's dropping in some deep balls right and.
Stride man, And I look at this offense as a chance with all the speed that you mentioned, they could be an offense that runs a lot of four verts.
I'm thinking, like, that guy can throw the d ball pretty well.
Yeah, you can throw it really well. He has a fluid stroke. He just hoped that they continue to work on his frame. You know, he's real thin, and but he he is super tall. He's like six five, right, so he's he's built like a basketball player. But the fluidity in what he and when he throws the ball, that's why he's able to get that good consistent accuracy deep and also at the intermediate levels of the field.
You mentioned Brooks from B to YU, the running back.
I plugged in his tape and you mentioned the four minute offense and that was a perfect like carry over to me because I saw this guy. I'm like, this dude's pushing piles. Man Like they stand him up and he just moves the pile five or six yards. Curious about how that kind of fits into adult backfield. That is really about speed right now.
Right now, you you know, switch gears.
You go to someone that can really just push the pile, and he was when I saw him down at the Hula Bowl. He's built like you thought that was a full back, but he is a tailback at two thirty, carries that weight well, does a good job reading and understanding zone blocking scheme, which is essentially what he's gonna be asked to do here with Miami and does a
good job and just falling forward again. He ran for one hundred yards in an All Star game, and that's hard to do when you're diving up the different reps and carries.
So he really did his thing. He catches the.
Ball solidly out the backfield, had a good week of work at the practices at the Hula Bawl, and again he's the zig to the zalt to the Dolphins zag with the within terms or with regard to the type of backs he already have in tow And.
When you mentioned a UDFA running back at the Dolphins sign, like with Mike McDaniel's track record of finding those gems in the rough, you have to really kind of, you know, earmark his name because if they saw something in him, that means that probably a chance that he has a chance to make make a move here in the Dolphins roster, in the NFL somewhere. I'm curious to get your take on Julian Hill, because I'm looking over some of these
colleges here. You know, you've got the SEC, the Pac twelve, the Big Ten, all these big time schools are represented on this list, but not a lot of Campbell tape out there for us folks. Emry, I know you've got a chance to watch them at him. What type of tight end is Julian Hill? I have no idea what he brings to the table.
He's a goat and man, it's funny because he was at the Hula Bowl too, And it makes sense when you see a lot of these guys just find the way find their way on the roster at certain you know, specific teams and you know you see ollokayd the Miami Dolphins. Here, I'm pulling up his scout report right now. And two times first team All Big South Conference. His contact power
is tremendous. So he's a good inline blocker, so you can put him on the move, have him great as an H back, and he is someone that was the number five H back and for the tight end position I grade inline, flex and H back, so thought highly of him. He's someone that's very underrated. He's a move piece that can also lock and catch and run. But the blocking part being able to chip there on the edge and help you secure there so allow that outside zone to get the corner.
He does a great job there.
And again Campbell is one of these teams that I've called multiple games. You know, when they first you know, made the decision to go from the Pioneer League to Big South Football and now scholarship football. They reached her that entire first class of like thirty five players, right, and then when they played Georgetown, I'm like wow a pregame, I'm on the field like wow, this team just looks like a big team, and they had the off the
bus look. Now fast forward four to five years later, Mike Mentor has done a remarkable job with that program. Former Carolina Panther, great Mike Mintr, the safety, he's a head coach down there. So these dudes and they have always produced the last three years, somebody at the point of attack, whether it's an old lineman or d lineman, this is a point of attack player, tight end. Heals someone to me that fits the mod physically and also
from a competitive standpoint. But again, coming off another very good week at the Hula.
Bull, I was gonna say, I think the first time I saw a Campbell prospect was a few years ago. And you see that Campbell logo, You're like, what the hell is that? That's a college football logo? It sure is, and like you mentioned, they're producing big time players. You mentioned Mike Mitchell, I had no idea. That's really cool. I love hearing stories about you know, ex players going
and getting these college programs built up. And speaking of that, you mentioned Aubrey Miller who played for Prime down there at Jackson State.
Want to hear more about him.
You mentioned kind of you know, his ability to go in there and stuff be gap to b gap.
Is that kind of his game?
Yeah, that's kind of his game, and you know, but he does it in an aggressive manner like he's also someone that could be a good blitzer. He's going to be a core special team and I feel like from day one that's where he can thrive. That's where he can make some noise, and that's where he can buy himself some more opportunities in the regular defense.
I had a chance to go back and watch them Garrett Nelson because there was a report that came out that he was a visit here for one of our you know, our thirty draft visits. And I just watched his tape and I wrote down one ward and it was an effort. Is that what you see when you watch Garrett Nelson?
Yeah?
Wisconstant hustle player, but also you know, got good length, good athleticism, recovery speed. He does a lot of things really well, especially when you think about, you know, what that edge position requires to be both locked in from a physical standpoint and also from what you see with your eyes.
The Andrew van Ginkgo komp was cool as far as the body build.
And then Ezekiel vanderberg Man was a guy that watching him the motor also jumps off the you know the tape with him, but the way he bends around the corner you mentioned that get off. I just want to get more of your take on Zeke vanderberg.
Again, very good player, dominant player. Another Broxpeck does a great job in coaching that football team, O line D line point of attack. You can always kunt of Illinois State to have someone that can do the job physically from that perspective. They produced a lot of pro players and a lot of Illinois State players are always sprinkled about these All Star games. So he's someone that uses his hands well, can cover in a short zone area.
Another one of these kind It's kind of like what we just talked about with Garrett Nelson.
I'll never forget seeing James Robinson go for two hundred yards against North Dakota State back in the day when he was coming out that year for Illinois State. So last one here Keidrin Smith from Kentucky. We go from the smaller schools to the SEC. This dude picked off the number four picking the draft this year and ran it back for a touchdown.
What do you like about Kedrin Smith?
Well, like I mentioned earlier, combo guy could play either safety spot and jump down and play corner because he was a corner at one point in time in his career before he transferred to Kentucky. So you have someone that can fill multiple spots. Like I said, this is about positions football on the back end, and when you have that capability, it helps you maximize your forty six game b roster.
Yeah, not to mention with Vic Fango and all the different man and zone match concepts they run on the back end. All right, Emery, We've got a pretty tough roster to crack here, like we mentioned, And you know you like a handful of these guys as chances who you got this year? Man? Who's your cater co? Who you're Britlain Sanders. You're Robert Jones of this twenty twenty three Dolphins UDFA class.
Well, it's tough, man, because you're looking at where these guys can fit. So I'm gonna go with the ty and I feel like Julia Hill has a really good chance, man. I really just like how he blocks and is able to help help out in the run game, and also what he does after the catch as well.
Dolphins fans are going to love you for that because they've been talking about tight ends all off season. You just gave us one there in the UDFA class would love to see it. I'm excited to see how Elijah Higgins translates, and then Tanner Connor as well, a couple of guys that kind of fit that mold. So the Dolphins have a few cracks at it here at that tight end position. That really f kind of tight end that you can play there. He's the owner of Football
Game Plan, He's an on air analysts. He's a color commentator of every football game happening in your neighborhood. I think I saw him down the street at the local high school call on a game earlier this morning. He's headquartered at CBS Sports HQ. You can find him at f Ball game Plan on social media. Emory, thank you so much for your time.
Man.
I hope you find a beach somewhere soon and just go ahead and plug for us. Besides, you know the trip up north. What else you're working on. Where can folks find your stuff online?
Well, they can follow me on Twitter at f Ball game Plan, but they can still purchase that Football game Plan draft guy at Football gameplan dot com. Slash twenty twenty three got full color PDF copy over one thousand individual scouting reports and they'll help you better identify these undrafted free agents of not only this team, but also teams within the division.
There you go, go check it out.
Might even wind up helping you when you get to cut down day in September you add some new players. There, Emory's got you covered there. Emory, thank you as always, my friend, and be well and enjoy Canada.
And there he.
Goes, the great Emory Hunt.
Let's go ahead and call it a break right there and come back on the other side. I also spoke to South Carolina head coach Shane Beemer about the Dolphins first pick in this year's draft, number fifty one. Overall, Cam Smith. That's next Draft Time podcast your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation, and joining us today is the head football coach at South Carolina, Shane Beemer. Coach, Thank you so much for your time today with us.
Well, thank you. Awesome to be on with you and.
We're happy to have you on.
As you know, we took one of your players in the second round of this year's draft. Have you got a chance to talk to Cam Smith at all since he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
I've called, even left a couple of myths it is.
We haven't actually talked to in depth about it, but so fired up about him and are so fired up for him, and I know he's excited as well, and I hope Miami is also you got a great player.
What's it like as a coach when you see, you know, one of your your players, almost one of your students, almost one of your sons, I feel like when they get drafted the NFL. What's that like when you see that moment for those players?
Yeah, it's really cool, you know it. Had experienced it as an assistant coach when I recruited guys that had a chance to go on to the next level and the pride you having those guys, but then to be able to this group was special that got drafted because these were guys that I spent two years with since that I was as the head coach here.
So I came in guys.
Like Cam, We're already here at Carolina, they have been recruited by another coach. They decided to stay when I came. Really cool for them and really excited for them and opportunity.
So you mentioned, you know, arriving there and having Cam be already on the team. How does was he one of the guys that kind of helped you, I want to say, instill your culture or just kind of you know, get your message across to the rest of the guys in the locker room.
Yeah.
I think the biggest thing with him, and you guys will see it, is just what a competitor he is.
You know.
So Cam didn't really have to say anything. He did it with his actions on the field.
And I know that's cliche, but we talk about competition here all the time, and one thing about Cam is he loves to compete, and you know, no matter what was going on when he stepped foot on the football field, whether it be a game or a practice, he turned it on.
And he's a fierce competitor, and that's the biggest thing.
Competition is a core value in this program, and he displayed that every time he he competed.
You took it right in the next question here, coach, because you know, when I plug Cam's tape on, my personal favorite trait that he displays every single snap is the confidence, which I'm sure comes a lot from that competition, you guys, is still down there in your practice fields throughout the week, but you can just see the confidence he plays with.
Was that something that you picked up right away from him?
Yeah, without a doubt.
Saw it in twenty twenty one my first season, just the way that he played.
You know, he was replacing a really good corner and j. C.
Horn who's with the Panthers right now, and Cam stepped right in and did a great job. And then, you know, I really saw it in the spring of what would have been Spring of twenty two, twenty twenty two.
We had moved Cam that spring from corner to.
Nickel and wanted to try him out as our nickel that year as the as the you know, slot.
dB, whatever you want to call it, and.
Just the way that he took that over the physicality he played with, the fun that he played with. It was very, very very evident what a competitive person he is and the competitive spirit that he has.
He carries that that bravado that conference onto the game day field and do his postgame press conference. Has had a chance to kind of watch some of his media and stuff. He just you can just see the confidence really oozed out of him. I'm curious how that impacts your football team, when you have a player that's so productive, so confident, how that kind of impacts the rest of the squad.
Yeah, I think guy's feed off of it.
You know, certainly, you got to channel it and make sure that it's not affecting you the other way from a negative standpoint and it's causing you to lose focus and get caught up in other things. But I think our guys feed off of it. I'm mean, I go back to the Tennessee game. In the Tennessee game this year, I mean we pretty much told Cam you're gonna follow number eleven high at the receiver for them.
Wherever he goes.
He's basically yours and you know, Cam did a great job and rose to the challenge, and we put him in that situation a lot last year and he performed admirably. And when he does that, it does, excuse me, does nothing but just elevate the confidence and the energy of the people around him.
Yeah.
See, once again, you took me right up the next question here, because I wanted to ask you about that and congratulate you from the big one over the fifth ranked balls this pole season, a game like you mentioned where Cam really showed his salt against you know, a fellow highly.
Drafted player there, Jale Hyatt.
I was hoping you could take us through that week of preparation for him, as you mentioned there, you know you're going to fallow number eleven, just kind of how he went about his business that week from a preparation standpoint, from the way he approached the entire challenge of covering Hyatt.
Yeah, i'd say, just very focused.
You know, early in the week our defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach came to me and told me that's what they were thinking about doing and wanted to make sure I was good with everything, which I obviously was. And I would say with Cam it was just a great focus and poise and confidence going.
Into that game.
You know, and you guys will see one thing about Cam, but I don't think he gets enough credit for us just.
How football smart he is.
You know, some of my best memories of him are just being on the practice field and he would come up and just ask me questions about punt coverage or punt protection or offense or whatever it might be. And it wasn't just hey, I'm going to ask to hit coach a question because I want to try to sound smart. It was like legitimate, like real good questions that make
you think as a head coach as well. So you know, he really studies the game and I think does a really good job of that, which allows him, you know, he prepares the right way during the week, which he did that week against Tennessee, and then it allows him to go out there and play like he did on that Saturday.
It's not too often a cornerback comes up and talks about special teams, right, a true four down player, it sounds like, yeah.
No, he is.
He just I think he just loves football and he loves to compete, and you know it shows in everything that he does.
Coach, you're taking me right to all my questions I have for you here talking about the football acumen that the smarts that he has, because again, when I plug on his tape, like this is a guy that just trusts his eyes and sees it and goes And I wanted to ask you more about the way he does study and prepare because it's very evident on his tape when you watch him that he is very well prepared for each opponent.
If you just wouldn't be able.
If you could maybe take us more into his week of preparation for how he got ready for games this past year.
Yeah, I think it really you know, starts with his position coach.
Last year, our defensive backs coach, Torrian Gray, and Torrian played in the NFL. Torrian coached in the NFL. I think he's unbelievable and he really really really prepares those players.
It's not easy playing defensive back here at South Carolina, but there's a reason that Tory and has put so many defensive backs in the NFL, and it's the way that you know, he forces those guys to prepare during the week and study wide receiver alignments and wide receivers splits and route combinations and what count concepts, whatever it might be. So excuse me, there's a lot that's done in that position room that Cam is extremely focused and
diwed in on when that happens. And then obviously a lot of that is done outside, you know, of the week as well, so or outside of the meeting room as well, you know. So for us, we come in and practice on Sundays after games, and then the NCAA we have to get the players a day off during the week, so Monday is their day off.
So Monday is an.
Opportunity for Cam and a lot of those guys to kind of get a hit start on everything that we're doing from a game plan standpoint, and then once they come back in here on Tuesday, very much like the Wednesday in the NFL, it's it's full speed ahead.
And would you.
Guys ever study NFL players at certain positions, because, like I know, Cam had mentioned that he grew up admiring Bolpic Xavi and Howard and Jalen Ramsey, And when you talk about his approach to just loving football and asking you about punt coverage or offensive calls, it reminds me of Ramsey because I heard there are similar things about him and how he goes about his game. Have you
guys ever looked at players in the NFL. Is Jalen Ramsey a player that he's talked about maybe admiring a little bit?
Yeah, I think I don't.
I can't speak with Cam directly or specifically, but yes, we do. I think anytime you can. I think anytime when you're watching video, it can get long and monotoness and stuff. So when you can throw an NFL video and maybe show your team, here's the Miami Dolphins running this exact same play you know, and or this same this same coverage as a group, or I know, like this time of the year, our players just finished up exams and we got summer workouts.
Coming up here in a few weeks.
I know a lot of our coaches give their players at their position a particular NFL player to study. Hey, your game is very much like so and so here's a fifty play cut up of this guy doing this, or this gunner on the punt team. You know, you got a chance to be really good as a gunner. Watch this NFL guy. He's the best in the NFL at covering punt. So yeah, we do that, and I'm sure Torrian did with the defensive backs, and I'm sure Cam on his own watched a lot of guys himself.
It seems like that the match and the pair there, pairing with Dolphins in camps.
But this is really good in terms of I mentioned X and Jalen.
Those guys have similar play styles in terms of that physicality, that the kind of brash where they carry themselves. And you mentioned his ability to play both inside outside same story here for Jalen Ramsey and a couple of other guys we have here. You also mentioned, you know, the number of players y'all put into the NFL from that position.
I'm curious how how players of South Carolina and the defensive backfield get prepared the NFL because inside outside zone, man match, you know, press off, you guys do it all there.
How do you think that prepared Cam for the NFL?
I think a lot, because there's not.
A lot that uh, there's not a lot that we do the that they won't be that they have. There's not a lot that Miami's doing technique wise that they probably haven't already been exposed to.
I mean, we've got a we've got a.
Defensive coordinator that bounced around the NFL as a player. We've got a defensive backs coach that played and coached in the NFL. We have a defensive tackles coach that played in the NFL, or defensive ends coach coached in the NFL.
So it's an NFL background on our defensive staff.
And you know, I Cam was here for our spring game, he and uh and I was talking with him and Darius Rush, who got drafted by the Colts on the other corner that we had, and I was talking to him and they brought up the fact that the system that they played in here at Carolina had really helped them in all of their pre draft visits and meetings that they had with teams because teams are asking them
to talk coverages and techniques and schemes. And they both made the comment that it was easy because of how they have been prepared here because they've been exposed to that stuff already. So, you know, I think there's a there's a lot of reasons that we've had success or Torrian and our guys have had success putting defensive backs in the NFL. It's great players, for sure, starts in recruiting within the way that we develop them certainly helps.
Also, I'm sure that's a big part of why the Dolphins fell in love with him in Indiapolis and the combine, you know, going on the whiteboard and putt all the stuff on the board and going over VIC fans Jo's defense, which you know is one of the more imitated defense in the NFL. So hopefully camp can fit right in there. I got one more question for you here, coach. I wanted to ask you, what's something about Cam the Dolphins fans have to know about from an off.
Off the field perspective.
It could be a pregame meal, a ritual that he does, a hobby that he.
Follows, something about camp Smith that we don't know about that you think we should know.
I think for me, it's a fact. He's a he's a great day. He had a baby girl, I guess a year or so ago, and I really think that that really narrowed his focus in a lot of ways. He realized, you know, it wasn't just about Cam at that point, and uh and uh, you know.
When when she came around. It really, I don't want to.
Say maybe more responsible, but certainly reprioritized his priorities a lot in a lot of ways and probably helped him become a better, better player on the field as well, because.
He had even more motivation to make it to the next level.
And it was pretty cool seeing, you know, Cam who didn't have a responsibility of a child when I first got here become the Cam that was a dad and he would, you know, bring the baby around Oakley and different people here in the building with babysit.
I mean the heck.
I offered to watch the baby if he ever needed to have to work out and couldn't find a babysitter and stuff like that, that she could stay in my office. So that was pretty cool just seeing that role or seeing that him and that realm and excited to see her continue to grow and him continue to mature with her.
Yeah, there is nothing like being a girl to ask you speak from experience on that front. So coach, appreciate your time today, help us get to know camp Smith.
Thank you and best of luck this season.
Yep, thanks appreciate you having me on and saying to you guys.
And away he goes.
Man, what a fun podcast that was tons of information, a little bit longer than usual, but we'll take it. Shane Beemer, Emery Hunt. Thank you to those guys so much for coming on and making us smarter.
Dolphins.
Let's go ahead and close the podcast upright there, You guys know the drill. You please be sure to download the podcast, subscribe, rate, review, all that fun stuff. Go ahead and leave us a five star rating if you can. Some two stars out there, which they're fun, but let's go five stars if you can. Also go ahead and give me a follow on Twitter at Wingfield NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank
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