Smell that! Football is around the corner, with training camp starting July 18 as the day rookies report. There is plenty of excitement growing when you look at the Dolphins roster this year. Sure, some pieces are missing but mostly for depth purposes. The projected starters on Offense and Defense are stacked nicely on paper with the other rosters in the league. Training camp is where those depth pieces can be found, and the Dolphins have done a good job over the last couple of years with finding talent via the undrafted pool of players or from waivers. Nik Needham and Kader Kohou being undrafted, and Zach Sieler off of waivers. This year the team brought in plenty of UDFA, and one player seemed to make some noise during mini-camp.
Defensive End Mitchell Agude, Miami
Mitchell Agude kept popping up on my timeline from reporters who saw him flash during those practices. You can never have too many Defensive ends, so he has a good chance of making the team. He played last year at the University of Miami via the transfer portal from UCLA. He had 39 tackles, seven of them for losses, and 4 sacks. He made the Pac-12 second-team all-defensive lineman in 2021, so the talent is there. According to scouting reports, his weaknesses were the lack of strength in the running game, he doesn’t disengage well from the blocker and lacks the pass rush variety. Scouting reports are not meant to be the last word on a prospect; sometimes, they can be just wrong.
Not saying they were wrong on Mitchell; however, when he showed up to mini-camp, he was applying pressure to the offensive lineman as they owed him money. He may have worked on his pass-rushing moves, and we will see him more during training camp and preseason. His development could be impactful to the team’s present and future. Let’s say he makes the team and shows promise; that may make someone like Ogbah more expendable next year. His backstory is also interesting and makes it easier to root for him. He survived a near-death experience at the age of 9 that caused some brain injury. He is also fighting to make the team to support his family back in Nigeria.
According to an LA Times report, Mitchell calls himself the Diamond in the Dirt. UCLA’s Mitchell Agude shaped by near-death experience – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) and let’s hope Chris Grier and the scouting report can help polish that diamond to shine bright when the lights come on. While I am rooting for him to make the Dolphins roster and make an impact, I am rooting for him as a person, and once Dolphin fans see more of him, I think they will also. Training camp cannot come soon enough.
