I have the answers to the questions that you guys asked me to send to Charles Clay, the versatile TE/HB that the Miami Dolphins picked up in this year's NFL Draft.I hope you enjoy them. Thanks to everyone who sent a question. If I didn't get your question please let me know and I will email him back and ask him your question.
Here we go:
It is common knowledge in the Dolphins community that RB Patrick Cobbs is a favorite of Coach Tony Sparano (you may not have known that before, but we will let you know in advance). Do you think you can overcome the favoritism factor that you will be up against?
"He (Cobbs) does a lot for the team and helps out in a lot of ways, so for him to be a favorite is very well deserved. My main focus coming in is to just learn from those guys as much as I can on how to be a professional on and off the field and try and help the team any way that I can."We know you are very versatile offensively, but have you ever returned kicks or punts or been on special teams coverage?
"I haven't returned a kick since I was in high school, but the good thing about the coach I had at Tulsa was that he put his best players on special teams as well. So every year I was on kickoff coverage, the field goal/pat team pretty much played every special teams."How much has the lockout affected you? What are you doing to make sure that you are ready when it ends to give yourself a chance to be a starter?
"The lockout has just given me more time to prepare. Granted, I'd much rather have been working with the team, getting acclimated with the players and coaches, and learning plays and such, but it’s a situation I cannot control so therefore all I can do is do whatever I can to make sure that I’m ready to go whenever the lockout is over."What injuries have you had during your college career? Any serious ones?
"Other than a couple of high ankle sprains and a hamstring strain I've been pretty fortunate thus far and have not had any really serious injuries."What do you do to avoid hamstring issues? They are normally a problem in the early parts of camp.
"I try to do a lot of strengthening exercises as well as a lot of stretching and hydrating. Because it's an issue I've had before I make sure that I try and stretch a lot and stay hydrated."What do you bring to the table in a football game? What do you consider your biggest strength?
"I believe versatility is the biggest asset of my game. Not being limited to doing one thing goes a long way and makes it tougher on a defense. I understand that college football and professional football is a big difference but I’m willing to put in the work to be successful at the next level."What have you been doing to try and get ready for camp? Are you trying to become quicker, and if so how would you go about doing that?
"Really trying to get bigger, stronger, and faster. I try to polish up on things that I do well as well as things that I don’t do as well. Pretty much lifting weights a lot of running and stretching."How were you introduced to football? Has it always been (or is it even now) your favorite game?
"Football has been my favorite game since I can remember. My little league coach attended the same church that I attended and he wanted to make an announcement to the church to try and get as many kids as he could to join the team, so we put on some pads during the announcement and stood in front of the church. I was a kid who did everything my older brother did so when he went out to play I went just because he did, I was 6 years old at the time and was terrified my first day but stuck with it just because he did and later learned to love the game."Have you participated in the Dolphins player-organized workouts led by Chad Henne or Jake Long at all?
"I did not get a chance to get out there but am excited to get to work with them as soon as the lockout is over."
That's all I've got for now. I hope you guys enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Charles is a real pleasure to work with, and I wish him the best.
If you would like to follow Charles on twitter, he is @CClay9. Please be sure to follow him if you are on twitter. We want to show him as much support as possible.
Thanks for reading, and I want to hear your reactions to any of these questions below.
