WEBVTT - Drive Time: NFL Draft Day 3 Recap 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:04.720 You're listening to the Miami Dolphins podcast Network. 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:08.280 This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield. Back to throw 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:10.560 to a looking Clip's about. 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:13.280 A wide Dolphin touchdown? 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:18.240 Tyrick call unclievable. Just blue fire for a second time. 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:20.960 Don't know where he was going right away. I want to 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:21.880 hit that man. 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:23.079 I'm gonna help you. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:24.279 Someone will stup on his man. 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:28.320 Away Wattle, Wattle to a shotgun, back to throw looking 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:28.760 at them. 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:33.560 Up Myers touchdown. It's Waddle his sixth touchdown. 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:34.920 Patdowns the team. 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:41.000 Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins. Now check your pulse 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:41.519 if you're not for. 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.120 What is up? Dolphins? 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.080 And welcome to the Drive Time podcast, part of the 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:53.559 Miami Dolphins podcast Network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.160 How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield. 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:59.640 And on today's show, we're gonna wrap up the twenty 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.360 twenty three NFL Draft and welcome in two new members 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:07.000 to the club, Stanford tight end Elijah Higgins and Michigan 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:11.400 tackle Ryan Hayes. We'll break down their games, their combine metrics, 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.280 all that fun stuff and the statistics hear from each player, 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.679 and wrap up the night with Mike McDaniel and Chris 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:20.160 Greer's end up Draft presser from the Baptist Health Studios 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.200 inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:27.120 This is the Drive Time Podcast. Maggie Gaffish Fish. 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:30.920 I mean, one hundred of the ninety seventh pick in 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:34.000 the two posident twenty three NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.240 select Elijah. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:39.040 Higgins, tight end Stanford Go Dolphins. 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:39.720 Fin's up. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.000 Football is life, and what the Dolphins hope is that 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:46.920 he's here. 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:52.080 He's there, He's every freaking where. Elijah Higgins. Elijah Higgins. 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:56.960 That's great, that's great. You know Elijah Higgins, somebody he 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:58.760 played wide receiver as stan Ford guys. A lot of 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.280 people think he'll actually play tight end in the NFL 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.560 at six foot three two and thirty nine pounds. 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:05.960 With the Stanford prote ran of four or five to 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:09.320 four kind of that target like in heavan Ingram almost 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:10.680 he's gonna play in the slot. 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:12.960 He's gonna be your seamless stretcher. 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:13.440 Your cover too. 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.040 Muster and there you hear the selection of Elijah Higgins, 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:20.160 a wide receiver at Stanford. Higgins is being listed as 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:23.440 a tight end with your Miami Dolphins reports pre draft 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:27.560 said there was heavy interest from four teams per Higgins himself, 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:31.000 the forty nine Ers, the Vikings, the Titans, and your 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.880 Miami Dolphins. And doesn't that list just make perfect sense? 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:36.040 It turned out the Niners were the ones that were 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.320 really the forefront. If you go to if you just 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.040 do a Google search and type in his name, you'll 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.919 see a report there from I think the SI Niner 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.640 site about the visits and about how involved he was. 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:47.440 I think a local visit. 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.720 There with the Niners coming from obviously Stanford, the Vikings 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.280 another branch off that same tree with a Niner scheme. 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:57.320 Kevin O'Connell there in Minnesota, obviously Kyle Shanahan, no real 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.440 affiliation there with the Titans, but you get the idea, 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:01.320 like teams that run a similar offense to the Miami 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.880 Dolphins liked this guy, and he told us in his 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:08.320 post selection press conference, say that five times fast that 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:10.600 pretty much every team he talked to talked about a 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:12.320 bit of a transition to a more of a tight 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.120 end role and a varied role is a multi fastest 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:17.840 weapon at this next level. And admittedly I was not 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:20.200 familiar with Higgins prior to the pick, so I went 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.480 to Lance Zerline from NFL dot Com and he had 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:25.320 this to say. Draft grace for Higgins could depend or 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.640 could vary depending on how teams envision him in their offense. 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:30.639 He appears to have the necessary tools to become a 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.480 dynamic f tight end that's a move piece, a guy 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.119 that's a little bit more in the Mica Sicki mold 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:38.960 than your Durham smyth. With the ability to work all 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.200 three levels of the field. Higgins has a more robust 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:45.040 route tree than most tight ends. Also, he has the 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:48.000 frame and technique to be an adequate run blocker in space. 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.480 He could blossom for an offense ready to plug him 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.600 in into two tight end sets. And for me now speaking, 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:55.000 getting a chance to pull up a couple of his 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:58.160 games here of tape, which was nice to have that access. 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:02.200 He's a very smooth mover. There's not any wasted movement 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.600 in his transitions and out of breaks. Like you can 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:07.400 tell this guy is a route runner first and a 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.640 physical specimen second. He's a separator at the top of 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:14.600 the route. There's no real wasted movement. Did I just 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.680 say that? In the way he sets up his routes 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:20.640 like he doesn't elongate his strides, he doesn't take extra steps. 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.360 It's all with the purpose at creating separation. And he 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.599 also looks to chew up yardage after the catch. And 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:29.080 this all kind of pairs together for this nice, complimentary 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.880 piece of an athletic, physical type of option in the 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.240 passing game. And that's where I think that he really 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.480 has a chance to make a name for himself at 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:40.280 this next level is a high upside pass catching tight end. 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:41.080 It's tough to. 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.080 Talk about his role as a blocker because he just 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.320 did it from a different position than what you would 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.800 see from a traditional tight end, you know, playing slot 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.800 receiver primarily in college. But there's work there to be 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:53.640 had to We've talked about that with Chose and Andersen. 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.839 Playing that slot receiver position with a tall guy that 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:58.320 can run and kind of bust the seam. Obviously he's 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.599 not that fast, but he is, you know, kind of 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.000 in that mold of a tall playmaking guy that plays inside. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.520 And he was just so good as a pass catcher. 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:09.719 I mentioned it a few times now, the ability to 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:12.839 create different types of production in various ways, you know, 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.600 going back to like the offensive line and the way 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.960 Tua gets rid of the football and how that maximizes 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.680 your ability to protect the quarterback and how the sack 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.360 rates you know, each of the last couple of years 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:27.080 with two in the game versus anybody else, it like doubles, 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.000 and so that's to a superpower, right his processing, his 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.520 quick trigger, get the ball out. And so we praised 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:34.560 a lot of what Trent Sherfield did last year in 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:37.400 this offense for blocking on the perimeter. I was a 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:39.440 huge fan of that, and that might be my favorite 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.279 part about higgins game right there, is that he's a 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.880 very effective perimeter blocker. So when you go twelve personnel, 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.000 you can get some of that from the tight end 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.240 or a eleven personnel for that matter as well, Like 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:50.720 it doesn't matter the personnel package. 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:51.640 But you can see. 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.280 Him having a little bit of, you know, a little 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.080 bit of both flavors in terms of how his role 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:57.960 is here at the Miami Dolphins. And if you pull 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.960 up his Senior Bowl tape, which is excess nowadays, which 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:03.080 is freaking awesome, you can see him run with the 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.320 tight ends all week and I thought he showed really well, 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.919 that's where you really began to see his ability to 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.360 transition into a role like that the workout numbers for 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.640 a receiver were like good, but for a tight end 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.479 they're off the charts. Four five, four forty. That's like 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:19.800 Tan er Connor range a one five to three ten split. 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.560 That is explosive man that's firing off the football, and 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.120 the explosiveness is also Evan a thirty five inch vert 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.359 in a ten foot six broad We did a radio 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.600 pregame show on Friday, Juice Seth and myself down in 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.680 Fort Lauderdale, and one of the fan questions was, who 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:36.640 are some of the candidates for red zone targets left 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:38.960 behind by Mike Gasicki. Who's the guy who can go 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.159 up and pluck the football? This could be one of 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.120 those guys. He's six foot three, good leaping ability, has 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:48.240 the big strong frame to really survive contact. And it's 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.160 just so funny because turning on the tape you can 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.600 see that he rolls with the ball in his hands. 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:55.400 We know how much this offense is predicated on Yak 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:57.640 or at least you thought it might be. It wasn't 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.320 so much last year, but maybe you can recreate that 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.360 here with guys like him, because Tyreek and Jalan are 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.000 so effective at catching the ball down the field. Maybe 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.000 you give two us some more short options to allow 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.359 him to chew up yardage when he doesn't have you know, 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.640 ten or seventeen down the field. Like we saw in 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:13.640 that Chargers and Niners game. It took away a good 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:15.360 chunk of the middle of the field that you know, 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:18.120 intermediate to deep middle portion of the field that leaves 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.280 vacancies in the short intermediate, or I should say that 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.440 the short middle, where you can then find guys like 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.080 Devin a Chain, you can find guys like Brax and Burials, 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:27.360 you can find guys like Elijah Higgins. 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:29.720 It's kind of funny to me because I don't. 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.800 Know how many times I've mentioned this on the podcast 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.600 now about how in this offense and Mike McDaniel is 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:37.400 the reason I say this because he told us this 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.400 in a press conference. At tight end at offensive line, 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:44.000 that's firing off the football is so important. And that's 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:45.720 the first thing, you know, It's the very first play 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.320 I watched against Arizona State, is that he was aligned 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.560 to the to the boundary against off coverage and you 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.560 have you know, ten yards eight yards of cushion and 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:58.640 he's eating up that space immediately. That's the one, five, three, 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:00.880 ten yards, but you see there, but also a good 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.800 short area burst where he just eats up press or 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:06.760 off coverage because you'll notice how well he carries two 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:09.080 hundred and thirty five pounds. He's quick as hell and 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.200 doesn't seem like he even has football pads on. Like 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:13.880 watching his tape and then his workout side by side, 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.200 it's pretty similar. But he quickly eats up space, stresses 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.160 the middle of the field vertically from those slot antight alignments, 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.680 and man seven yards average after the catch, he rolls 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.040 with the football in his hands. That's the exact same 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.040 average depth of target he had last year seven point 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.520 one yards. So he's a fifty percent YAK player his 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:32.960 final year there at Stanford. I think the trait that 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:35.280 makes him really got the ball in his hands is 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.080 one of the things that shows you how he can 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.480 transition to playing more in line roles or various tight 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.720 end rolls. There's a clip of a slot cornerback trying 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.040 to reroute him in that Arizona State game in twenty 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.280 twenty one, and he just runs right through the jam 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:51.400 and he's the one that inflicts the you know, the knockback. 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:53.560 He's the one that gets the corner off balance and 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:55.920 takes his route right to the flag wide open because 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.440 he ran the dude over basically and goes up and 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.679 plucks it super strong through through contact. Then literally one 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.600 snap later, Arizona or rather Stanford, has put the ball 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.080 into the low red zone one on one to the 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.560 field the wide side of the formation from the six 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.560 yard line. They throw him a fade pass and again 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.120 he engages the contact on the jam and runs right 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.360 through it and puts himself an easy position for a 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.679 touchdown grab. That's a very quarterback friendly trait to possess, 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:22.440 to know you've got a guy that can control the 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.480 rep from a physicality standpoint, because those guys are so 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:27.960 difficult to intercept the ball against, so those types of 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:31.120 plays and that's very important on fifty to fifty balls 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:33.320 for the trust of your quarterback. He wins down the 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.640 field with that style of route to the physicality, like 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:40.200 he beats leverage with body positioning and physicality aspect of 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.360 his game, and man, the release package screams wide receiver. 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:46.320 That's what really intrigues me. He's got very high upsides 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.760 of pass catching tight end trates and he seems to 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:50.840 have an answer for the various ways team try to 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.080 cover him. And we talked about Eric Saubert's hand size 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:56.440 and how he just plucks it naturally. This guy's got 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.239 ten and a half inch hands. That's ninety fourth percentile 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:01.960 for the position. He had one hundred and nineteen catches 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.840 at Stanford for thirteen hundred and eighty yards and six touchdowns. 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.800 Last year. He caught seventy two percent of his targets. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:09.880 He played in the slot eighty percent of the time, 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.640 eighteen point five percent out wide, and two percent in line. 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.960 That was on six hundred and sixty one total snapped 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.000 and he also played on special teams too, and that 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:20.400 type of speed can really help you in that area 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.800 of the game. Between he and Tanner connor Man, you've 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:26.800 got two really high upside gifted athletes for that f role. 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:28.920 Maybe it's a number three tight end right away, but 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.520 potentially down the road you develop into a guy that 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:33.800 can be a dependable pass catcher. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.000 I think it's a really, really, really good. 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.040 Flyer take in the sixth round and just kind of 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:40.240 perusing social media and looking at some of the takes 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:42.440 from the draftnicks out there. Jim Nagy had a tweet 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:45.720 from last July talking about Elijah Higgins hitting twenty one 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.679 point five miles per hour GPS on a fifty six 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.360 yard touchdown catch he had against UCLA. And when you 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:53.439 watch it, I talked about the way he runs through 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.400 reroutes and physicality in this off coverage it's a little 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:58.360 stutter and ghost step, and you see the route running 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.600 ability in the really no way movement on that touchdown catch. 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:04.280 I retweeted it. Go check it out. Really impressive play 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:06.840 right there. You've also got this from lan zer Line 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.000 once again. Higgins is an awesome value pick. Is a 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.520 big slot slash f tight end whom Mike McDaniel can 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.040 have some fun with. Saw this tweet from Chris Kaufman 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.800 and Mike McDaniel's two drafts with the Miami Dolphins. I've 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.520 taken two pass catchers Aszukama and Higgins. Those two combined 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:22.720 for twenty eight broken tackles in seven hundred and seventy 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:25.200 seven yards after the catch on one hundred and six 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.960 catches and their final season combined. So there's more of 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.200 your YAK stuff right there. Speed the tight end position, 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:32.760 speed all over the field. Pretty cool that his father 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.160 played football at USF and so he was born in 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:37.080 the state of Florida, but he did move after he 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.240 was born as his father was in the Air Force. 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:41.320 He did tell us in the press conference his whole 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.280 family is from Tampa now, so he is excited about 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.920 coming back to his home state and being close to them. 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:49.040 Let's go ahead and hear from Elijah and his post 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.760 selection press conference with the South Florida media. But first, 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:54.199 right before that, let's go to the emotional moment between 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:57.160 Elijah and Coach McDaniel on their draft day call. 0:11:57.960 --> 0:11:59.760 Thank you doing man for the Dolphins. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:02.240 I'm doing well, man. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:03.160 It's been tough. 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:04.880 Don't get it's been tough. 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:06.040 Good things happening, though. 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:06.880 It was a wait man. 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:08.679 Uh, you know we're going to have. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.720 A few fixing in the draft, so we were doing 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:13.240 on the type of guys you want to bring in, 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.240 and uh, we're on the clock here now to make 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:16.800 your Dolphin. 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:17.040 Man. 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:22.559 I appreciate it very much, man, appreciate it. 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.040 Hey, let it out, man, don't worry worry about it. 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.320 We're excited, man, it's a great opportunity for you. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:28.320 So very excited. 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:34.959 Well, I appreciate it, coach man, that's awesome. Dude. 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:39.920 Yeah, this is uh, you know, it's uh, everything happens 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:44.160 for a reason, Bud, and this is something you've earned, 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:48.200 this opportunity and uh yeah, you know you're talking to 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.360 an emotional guy, So don't worry, just let that. 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:52.360 Let it all out. 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.480 I appreciate it. Thank you. Shout out to the Dolphins 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.480 social team and video team here for getting all that 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.400 stuff for us and putting it up on their social channels. 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:04.439 Let's go ahead and go to the press conference here 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:07.280 and start with his first question for Elijah about his 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:10.280 blocking role in the Stanford offense and how excited he 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.680 is to have an opportunity to increase that role as 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:15.040 more of a tight end here with the Miami Dolphins. 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.520 Yeah, I would say I'm aggressive for sure, and I'm 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:19.560 willing to get in battle as well in the fire 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:23.400 their defenders for position on the field and just by 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.760 the position in general obviously, But I would say, like 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:29.400 the more morbib all, just say I'm aggressive, I'm willing 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:32.360 to block, will get my hands dirty, and I'm excited 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:33.120 to take on that role. 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:35.640 Next, I had mentioned the experience of his father being 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.719 in the military. He was asked what he learned from 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.439 his father, and you could tell in the press conference 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:42.640 what he took from his father. He talked about being 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.160 respectful of one another. But also in that press conference, 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:47.600 the way he thanked us all for our questions, addressed 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:49.280 us by our name once we told him our name. 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.440 Just a really cool kid. To see how nice and 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:53.280 respectful he was. 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:58.319 Yeah, just being respectful at all times, being humble, being grounded, 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.559 being president of the moment or things like that, and 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:04.199 then holding yourself to accountability and being able to depend 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.520 on others and allow them to depend on you as well. 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:08.760 And how about that family ties back to Florida? Do 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.200 you still have family down here in South Florida? 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.600 Elijah, Yeah, I'm actually in Tampa right now. 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.560 My family moved back here and then my entire extended 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:18.920 family is here as well. So I'm excited to be 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.720 back a little closer to home, be in their family, 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:23.000 and be able to see family as well. 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:25.920 And as you heard on that draft call, very very emotional. 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.040 Here's Elijah walking us through the moment he got that 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:29.720 phone call from the Miami Dolphins. 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:31.920 Yeah, it was, it was. It was a long process, 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.040 for sure. It was definitely difficult, you know, getting into 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:40.480 round five, getting through round six and then it's kind 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:44.040 of just waiting around and it happened, And I would 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:49.160 say it's definitely challenging to describe, but definitely a lot 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.880 of emotions all at once, and I think the ability 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:53.320 to be able to process all those different types of 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.400 motions with family around it was definitely Aquo experience. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.280 Two more here for Elijah Higgins. First, your impressions of 0:14:58.320 --> 0:14:59.320 coach Mike McDaniel. 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.960 There my knowledge him, just a great dude. I'm all around, 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.360 seems like a players coach for sure, but the one 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:08.960 coach I had spent the most time was was the 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:10.760 tight ends coach touch Embury. 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:13.480 So and last, but not least, your impressions of the 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:16.000 guy that he say spends most time with, Dolphins tight 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:17.800 ends coach John Embrey Love. 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.960 I love coach Embriy, to be honest. He's one of 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.720 the favorite guys I've met through this whole process, and 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.560 that's in all honesty. So I'm excited to work with him. 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.920 I'm as sided to be challenged. I'm excited to learn 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:29.320 underneath him. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:30.160 So there you go. 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:33.920 Dolphin's sixth round draft pick number one ninety eight overall 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.760 in the twenty twenty three NFL Draft Elijah Higgins, tight 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.000 end out of Stanford. Next, we're going to go break 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.440 down the game of the Dolphins seventh round draft pick 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:45.080 number two thirty seven overall offensive lineman, offensive tackle, I 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.120 should say, out of Michigan, Ryan Hayes. That's next, your host, 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:49.320 Travis Wingfield, brought to. 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:50.520 You by Auto Nation. 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:58.000 Let's pivot now to pick two thirty seven in the 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.320 twenty twenty three NFL Draft. Offensive tackle out of Michigan, 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.360 Ryan Hayes is the Dolphins draft pick. And while I 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.120 don't have the audio of the call or the draft 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:10.600 pick for Hayes, I'll go ahead and make sure to 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.120 retweet that for you guys once we do have it 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.760 on social so you can find it there. You heard 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.000 the Elijah Higgins call already. Man, these things are really 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:19.440 cool to hear, so I want to make sure I 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.720 get that to you guys. But watching the tape of 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:23.640 Ryan Hayes, the first thing that jumps out at him 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:26.520 to me is the temperament that he plays with. There's 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.600 a mean streak there and he always plays through the 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.800 echo of the whistle. That Michigan power spread they run 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.080 certainly is the last of a dying breed in terms 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.200 of playing a little bit more traditional style of football 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.360 that asks guys to play with power and through the play, 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.640 opposed to just playing fast and trying to get back 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.560 to the lion of scrimmage to line up and go again. 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:48.720 You know that hurry up style college offense. To check 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:52.320 with me, you're not actually huddling up and getting calls 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.920 sometimes can discourage finishing because they want you to get 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:56.840 back to the line so quickly. There's none of that 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.560 here on Ryan Hayes's tape. Let's go to the background 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:01.800 and the number first before we go back into the tape. 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:07.399 And first off, he was a tight end, defensive end, 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.399 and punter in high school, and he also was an 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:15.440 All conference player in that regard, but also in basketball, 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.439 the player of the year his senior year in his conference, 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:20.680 averaging fifteen points per game and ten and a half 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.159 rebounds per game double double. He also was the pitcher 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.080 of the year in his conference, striking out one hundred 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.879 and two batters and fifty nine innings on the bump. 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.800 His dad was an offensive guard at Central Michigan. His 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.000 mother was an All American hooper who holds forty three 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.760 school records. There and the second all time leading score 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.400 at Central Michigan women's hoops. There we'll hear from him 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.320 on that just one second. There's a ton of explosiveness 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.879 and athletic ability here on this player's tape, and by 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:48.159 the numbers, he scored at eight point nine on the 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.000 relative Athletic scorecard. That's good for one hundred and forty 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.680 third all time out of twelve hundred and ninety four 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:57.000 offensive tackles that of course dates back to nineteen eighty seven. 0:17:57.320 --> 0:17:59.840