Dolphins’ Laremy Tunsil says he wants to be great

There is a stigma with a first round draft pick and that is especially true for former first round left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Expected to be the first overall draft pick of the 2016 draft class everything changed minutes before the draft began. A video surfaced of Tunsil using a bong. The Rams and the Eagles both made trades up into the top five, the Rams to the number one spot, for quarterbacks, and Tunsil began an epic fall.

Miami was ecstatic when Tunsil was still on the board when they came on the clock at number 13. But things haven’t exactly been top of the draft excellent for Tunsil so far in his two previous seasons.

Tunsil is playing his second season at left tackle this year after spending most of his rookie season at left guard. While he struggled at times last year, he is finding his footing and says that Josh Sitton, the teams new left guard is helping him a lot.

"“Sitton is an 11-year vet, so he helps me a lot. Sitton has been to many Pro Bowls; he’s been to the Super Bowl, so Sitton is always out there helping me. He has a lot of experience in games, so it’s always good working with a vet like that.” – MiamiDolphins.com transcript release"

There is a lot of expectations for this offensive unti that has quality veterans from the right to the left including 5th year veteran Ja’Wuan James, center Daniel Kilgore, Sitton, and Tunsil. Miami decided on their starting five during mini-camps and seem to be sticking with it. Jesse Davis is the starting right guard.

Tunsil however has high-expectations for himself as well. When asked about his personal expectations for 2018 he simply answered, “I want to be great. That’s it. I want to be great”.

He has the tools to be just that and the drive and determination. He told reporters he traveled this off-season to work out in Mississippi which rivals the South Florida heat in an effort to get in shape for the Florida sun. He joked about the “cooling tent” being his favorite location on the field.

Tunsil is going to have a huge part to play in the success and failures of the Dolphins offense this year and he needs to take a big step in 2018.

This year Tunsil will also sport a new number changing to 78. “I just like 78. That’s what I wore in college,” Tunsil said when asked about the change.  Read the full interview below.

What are your thoughts on the first few days of camp?) – “It’s going pretty good so far. There’s always things we need to work on – the run game, pass game. Just continuing to work, I guess.”

(How much do you like the idea that it appears there’s a set five guys up front and it’s going to stay that way? How much difference does that make?) – “I think it’s going to make a lot of difference. We’ve got a lot of veterans up there – Josh Sitton, ‘D.K.’ (Daniel Kilgore), we’ve got Ja’Wuan (James) back on his fifth year. So that’s a lot of experience on that line, so I think we should be good.”

(What do you have to do as a tackle? You worked with C/G Ted Larsen a lot last year. How does the dynamic change now that G Josh Sitton is there? What do you guys work on as a tandem?) – “Sitton is an 11-year vet, so he helps me a lot. Sitton has been to many Pro Bowls; he’s been to the Super Bowl, so Sitton is always out there helping me. He has a lot of experience in games, so it’s always good working with a vet like that.”

(Is there a communication deal that the guard and the tackle have to have and do you work on that here?) – “I think it’s more of a relationship, and me and (Josh) Sitton have a good relationship so we’re good.”

(How would you describe your expectations for yourself for the 2018 season?) – “I just want to be great. That’s it. I want to be great.”

(Head Coach Adam Gase said he wants to run the ball more. It’s hard to believe considering how much he’s pass happy.) – “Gase said that? (laughter)”

(Yes. Head Coach Adam Gase said he wants to run the ball more. How much do you think that plays into this line’s strengths?) – “I think that plays to it a lot. I think we have a nasty front and I think we can get it done. We definitely have some good running backs back there. We’ve got Kenyan Drake and we’ve got Frank Gore.”

(Do you think you can build an offense off of rushing the ball?) – “I think so. That’s all on Coach Gase.”

(What have you learned about G Josh Sitton’s personality so far?) – “Country Boy! That’s all I’ve got to say. (Two words). He’s a country boy and I love it.”

(With Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn out here with a broken leg, what does that do…) – “He’s a savage. I love that, just to see a coach out there on crutches and still coaching the way he (would) if he had his regular leg. I love it.”

(You guys got a little bit of a break today. I saw a lot of smiles when you walked out.) – “Yes, because we didn’t see that sun. (Laughter) It was nice.”

(On that topic, it’s been hot first few days. How do you see guys trying to cool off? What’s your method?) – “The cooling tent right over there. I try to go over there as much as I can. (laughter) It’s just something you’ve got to adjust to and get used to. We’ll be fine.”

(Did you do anything unique in the summer to prepare to be your best this season?) – “I went back to Ole Miss and I was training outside in that heat. That’s something real up there. No breeze at all in Mississippi.”

(Were there any former players or coaches that you trained with?) – “I (trained) with one of my assistant strength coordinators up there who was there when I was there for three years. His name is Dominic Studzinski. That’s my guy.”

(Any reason for the number change?) – “I just like 78. That’s what I wore in college.”

(You’re used to this heat from college. Was it hot in Mississippi?) – “Oh man, we used to go run outside and my cleats used to melt. That’s how hot it was. It was bad.”