MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) – Several Miami Dolphins players’ path to the pros began in South Florida.
There’s a South Florida connection with the Dolphins. On the active roster, there are five players who either played their high school or college football in South Florida.
Tight end Jonnu Smith went to Florida International University and six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Calais Campbell went to the University of Miami. The duo are embracing the opportunity of playing for the Dolphins.
“I wake up every day, man, I’m just grateful for it to be back and represent the City of Miami,” Smith said. “It means a lot to me.”
“Here I am today. I’m happy to be here,” Campbell said. That aqua, I feel like it looks good on me. They say, If you look good, you feel good, you feel good, you play good, so I’m excited about it.”
Smith and Campbell are once again teammates.
Last season, they played for the Atlanta Falcons and the two were sold on the Fins over lunch.
“Me and him sat down and we ate, and we talked a lot about it and, you know, he had some influence on me coming here, just talking through his experience, how much he liked it,” Campbell said.
“I got a chance to take him out to lunch. It was on me, you know what I mean?” Smith said. “I had to treat my guy, talk him to what we got going on here and knowing that we could build something special with him.”
Linebacker Jaelan Phillips enters his fourth season with Miami. He was once a dominant player for the Canes.
Phillips had this to say on playing on defense with Campbell.
“It’s been really invaluable having him here, just from a leadership standpoint in terms of him being able to come in and identify the things that make up,” Phillips said. “He’s been to the Super Bowl, and so him being able to just give us advice and kinda guide us on what we need and what we need to be focusing on to reach that end goal.”
Campbell recently turned 38 years old.
“He doesn’t even seem like an old man, bro,” Phillips said. “You wouldn’t think he’s 37 or whatever he is. He works his ass off and he moves really well for how old he is. So that sounded crazy.”
Campbell posted on his Instagram and said he had an early birthday celebration after he saw the Canes win against the Gators at “The Swamp” on Saturday.
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