https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article242155751.html
In the wake of his team’s 56-14 loss to Alabama in an early season game in 2018, Louisiana offensive coordinator Rob Sale got a call from a veteran Crimson Tide assistant coach.
The coach had a question: “Who’s that right tackle you have?”
That would be new Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Robert Hunt, who left quite an impression that day, more than holding his own against an Alabama defense replete with NFL talent"
“We played Alabama in 2018 and Mississippi State the last two years and you look at those games, and Robert and [teammate and Pittsburgh Steelers rookie fourth-round pick Kevin Dotson] are choking out their players and knocking them back,” Sale said.
Miami’s selection of Hunt with the 39th pick has drawn almost universal praise, and Sale isn’t surprised.
Why?
“He’s a big, old athletic kid, has no stiffness,” Sale said. “And he has something that you can’t coach and teach: That’s effort, toughness, strength. And he can handle everything mentally. I’m not even sure he can’t play center; he grabbed the ball and snapped it every once in awhile.”
Hunt was also considered a clean prospect.
“He has no issues,” Sale said. “He’s not going to embarrass the Miami Dolphins organization a couple years down the road. He’s well-rounded, well-spoken, great human.”
“I came into every game with a bully mentality, so I wanted to bully anybody that came in front of me,” Hunt said. “I try to strain and I try to finish people. I think I just play this game very hard. You don’t get in trouble for destroying people on the football field, so why not do it?”
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rafael, KeyFin and Surfs Up 99 like this.
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Toughness, strength, bully, athletic....all words I want to see when describing a lineman.
Phil Hutchings, hitman8, Sceeto and 1 other person like this. -
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I think Hunt is safer. I think he projects to RT but he could probably play G right now with his current skill set. Obviously he needs experience like any rookie, but he's probably there physically. With Jackson you're talking about a greater level of development to become a LT. He needs to develop more technique and more strength. Now he's young and he already has very good mirroring skills so I'm optimistic, but it's still about development and not everybody develops.
hitman8 and AGuyNamedAlex like this. -
But you can say that about any rookie/draftee.
They are all young men, and have still to fully develop, both physically and emotionally, as well as learning a new system and getting to know new teammates.
Like all of us, they’re all different and are at different stages of that journey to maturity. Some are almost fully fledged, while others have maybe two or three years of growth to come.djphinfan likes this. -
As you say, different players are at different stages of development, some are further along than others. However the one's that are further along are safer bets when drafting than the ones who are still raw since it is never a given that they will eventually develop.
Generally speaking it is a better idea to draft the more proven and better developed players early, while leaving the raw developmental players for later on in the draft. -
It’s always better to draft the player that will become the best football player, there is no different philosophy lol
Dol-Fan Dupree likes this. -
Of course, but how exactly do you determine who will become the better player? IMO past performance is the best indicator of future performance. Projecting future performance by looking just at raw talent is a risky strategy. Given comparable levels of raw talent, it is a better bet to go with the more developed player.Last edited: May 28, 2020
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We also have to consider that, hopefully for the long haul, our RT is going to be the blind side protector. It's going to be a somewhat different role with a different style. It's important when figuring who our RT will be and how he will play.
RevRick, Phil Hutchings and resnor like this. -
how do you determine who will become the better player??
That is the art that is evaluating talent..just because one player is more developed doesn’t mean he wins the race.
You have to know what your looking for..
Everyone has different ways of coming to those conclusions, and past performance is def one of those ways..rafael, resnor and Dol-Fan Dupree like this. -
Not just DJ, but one offensive lineman is part of an entire unit. Not only will “this kid” shine, but will all 5 meld into a cohesive, effective blocking unit?
I think this kid Hunt is going to be the real deal, but the OL has been our Achilles heel for years. I just hope that the OL finally starts to come together so the skill set players can produce as we all hope they will.RevRick and Surfs Up 99 like this. -
I wish I had as much confidence as you and this coach, but I don’t, and man I hope this is one of the times I’m wrong, I think he has to play guard to be successful..Surfs Up 99 likes this.
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Well here’s my mindset...
Last season Flores was making sugar out of ****e. He was able to get no talented players to play above their abilities.
This upcoming season, he’ll have players with abilities. I just can’t help but feel this season is going to be much improved than last, and I’m not necessarily referring to wins and losses. 2021 is going to be the season where we had better expect to see the Dolphins make that runRevRick and Surfs Up 99 like this. -
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It's my nature to be hopeful. However, we have just been too inconsistent over the years, so if someone has concerns over our OL or a lineman we drafted, I can understand that, too.
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Like you, I too am hopeful by nature. Year after year, season after season I've always thought and hoped, "this year is IT"...and like so many others, I too have been disappointed, especially after the 84 season when we almost made it. So I understand that disappointment.
There's an old adage, "If things are this bad, they can only get better"...and for 36 years, with the few exceptions of almost making it in the 80's, it's been that badSurfs Up 99 likes this. -
I am torn on Hunt...
It would be amazing if he can be a tackle... But if it comes down to the difference and the decision... Of being an average tackle or a pro bowl guard... Play him at guard and let him dominate for a decade.
Now if he can be a pro bowl tackle that is another debate.RevRick likes this.