Post by elp525 on Aug 1, 2010 7:08:31 GMT -5
Arena League's Tommy Grady to try out at QB
July 31, 2010
DAVIE — Pat White returned to practice Saturday morning after spending a day on the active/non-football injury list, according to a league source.
How long White, a backup quarterback and former second-round draft pick, remains on the Dolphins' active roster is an open question.
Tommy Grady, starting quarterback for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League, told The Daily Oklahoman on Friday night that he will travel to South Florida for a Monday tryout with the Dolphins.
"It's a great opportunity," Grady said Friday night after throwing for seven touchdowns in a 74-61 season-ending loss to Tulsa.
Sparky McEwen, the Yard Dawgz coach, told the newspaper the Dolphins had been calling about Grady throughout the AFL season. McEwen added the Dolphins are looking for a practice-squad option at the position.
Grady's tryout, which Dolphins coach Tony Sparano would not confirm, is another indication the Dolphins are concerned about White's immediate future with the team.
A second league source said Friday the Dolphins' backup quarterback could miss the entire regular season with a serious, non-football related issue. White sat out Friday's practice that opened training camp and there was speculation he might immediately land on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
That can't happen now that White has practiced, but there are other ways to protect him as he deals with a serious issue his older brother, Bo White Jr., described as "just dealing with life."
"Pat was just dealing with some … we were dealing with some personal health issues with him that we wanted to get checked out," Sparano said Saturday afternoon. "We did. We were all satisfied and had him back out on the field today. Everything's good, and he's ready to go."
When pressed for details, Sparano said "it's not an injury" that caused White to sit out Friday's practice. He added the team still viewed White as "strictly a quarterback" and planned to put White into all the usual camp activities, including a full-contact scrimmage on Aug. 7.
"Absolutely, yes," Sparano said. "One hundred percent."
However, Sparano would not divulge any recent conversations he may have had with White regarding his desire to play.
"I'm not going to get into what I talk about with my players, first of all," Sparano said, "but Pat White is out here, ready to go , full to go."
Grady, who went undrafted out of Utah, completed 61 percent of his passes (363 of 597) for 4,307 yards in 16 games for Oklahoma City this season. He threw for 81 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Grady, 25, is 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds. He transferred from Oklahoma, where he backed up Heisman Trophy winner Jason White in 2004.
Meanwhile, backup cornerback Evan Oglesby joined White on the active/non-football injury list, according to the league source. The Dolphins didn't announce either transaction but that isn't unusual.
Oglesby missed a second straight practice Saturday morning, but Sparano said Oglesby is "getting much better" as he deals with an undisclosed illness. Bo White Jr., four years older than Pat, said Friday night he was "not even sure exactly what's going on." Bo White Jr. said he had spoken to his younger brother within the past few days.
"He seemed to be doing well," Bo White Jr. said in a phone interview from Daphne, Ala. "Everything seemed to be going all right. My parents are handling it now." Bo White Jr., while saying he believed his brother was still "excited" about playing football, suggested the issue could have something to do with motivation.
"I couldn't tell you what day he's going to be out there or when he's going to be back on the field," Bo White Jr. said. " "Being a young man, he's just trying to find – I'm trying to put this in the best way -- I guess his position in life. I think that may have something to do with it. Just life, you know, in general."
Asked if his brother is happy, Bo White Jr. said he believed Pat White, 24, is "in a good place right now."
"I would say he's content," Bo White Jr. said. "He's happy with where he is. It's just life. He's just dealing with life right now."
Pat White endured a trying rookie season after the Dolphins surprisingly chose him in the second round (44th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft out of West Virginia.
With the Mountaineers, White gained All-America status and set an NCAA record for most rushing yards (4,480) by a quarterback.
He went 34-8 as a three-year starter before signing a four-year, $4.75 million contract ($2.4 million guaranteed) with the Dolphins.
Expected to add an extra dimension to the Dolphins' Wildcat offense, White instead struggled to read defenses and failed to complete a single pass (in five attempts) all season. Despite appearing in 13 games, he rushed for just 81 yards on 21 carries .
White was knocked out of the Jan. 3 season finale against the Steelers on a vicious sideline hit to the helmet from defensive back Ike Taylor. White left Sun Life Stadium on a motorized cart and was held overnight at the hospital for observation.
That was White's second concussion in as many seasons, his brother said, including one against Rutgers as a college senior. However, White's current issue isn't believed to be directly related to those head injuries.
The diminutive left-hander was cleared to return to non-contact practice on May 19.
White drew praise this offseason from Sparano for the nine pounds of muscle he added to his slight frame. White also caught the coach's eye by improving his passing accuracy.
"This guy has really gotten himself bigger, stronger," Sparano said in late May. "You can see it in the way he's throwing the ball and the way he's carrying himself." On the 49 snaps White took last season, the Dolphins gained just 133 combined yards (2.7 average).
"It's the NFL," White said in May. "I've got to study more, work harder and try to be a little bit wiser on the field."
The speed of the professional game seemed to be a problem for White as a rookie.
"Hopefully, as I age and get older, it starts to slow down a lot more to where it's pretty much slow motion for me," White said in May. "I'm just trying to focus on the little things I have to get done, make myself better and we'll see where it goes from there."
White also starred in baseball while in high school in Daphne, Ala. He has been drafted four times by three different organizations, most recently by the Yankees in 2009, but his older brother said he didn't believe baseball was on his mind.
As White deals with his issue, fourth-year reserve Tyler Thigpen has become the favorite to assume the game-day No. 2 quarterback role behind starter Chad Henne. Veteran Chad Pennington, the Dolphins' starter for 20 straight games from 2008-09, is another strong backup option.
Thigpen didn't play until the finale against Pittsburgh after the Dolphins acquired him from the Chiefs last Sept. 29 for a fifth-round draft pick. Thigpen led a stirring fourth-quarter comeback in the wake of White's emotional exit that nearly wiped out a 27-10 deficit.
Pennington, who had a third major surgery on his throwing shoulder last October, is on schedule and taking third-string repetitions in practice. Pennington and White split those reps on Saturday morning.
July 31, 2010
DAVIE — Pat White returned to practice Saturday morning after spending a day on the active/non-football injury list, according to a league source.
How long White, a backup quarterback and former second-round draft pick, remains on the Dolphins' active roster is an open question.
Tommy Grady, starting quarterback for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League, told The Daily Oklahoman on Friday night that he will travel to South Florida for a Monday tryout with the Dolphins.
"It's a great opportunity," Grady said Friday night after throwing for seven touchdowns in a 74-61 season-ending loss to Tulsa.
Sparky McEwen, the Yard Dawgz coach, told the newspaper the Dolphins had been calling about Grady throughout the AFL season. McEwen added the Dolphins are looking for a practice-squad option at the position.
Grady's tryout, which Dolphins coach Tony Sparano would not confirm, is another indication the Dolphins are concerned about White's immediate future with the team.
A second league source said Friday the Dolphins' backup quarterback could miss the entire regular season with a serious, non-football related issue. White sat out Friday's practice that opened training camp and there was speculation he might immediately land on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
That can't happen now that White has practiced, but there are other ways to protect him as he deals with a serious issue his older brother, Bo White Jr., described as "just dealing with life."
"Pat was just dealing with some … we were dealing with some personal health issues with him that we wanted to get checked out," Sparano said Saturday afternoon. "We did. We were all satisfied and had him back out on the field today. Everything's good, and he's ready to go."
When pressed for details, Sparano said "it's not an injury" that caused White to sit out Friday's practice. He added the team still viewed White as "strictly a quarterback" and planned to put White into all the usual camp activities, including a full-contact scrimmage on Aug. 7.
"Absolutely, yes," Sparano said. "One hundred percent."
However, Sparano would not divulge any recent conversations he may have had with White regarding his desire to play.
"I'm not going to get into what I talk about with my players, first of all," Sparano said, "but Pat White is out here, ready to go , full to go."
Grady, who went undrafted out of Utah, completed 61 percent of his passes (363 of 597) for 4,307 yards in 16 games for Oklahoma City this season. He threw for 81 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Grady, 25, is 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds. He transferred from Oklahoma, where he backed up Heisman Trophy winner Jason White in 2004.
Meanwhile, backup cornerback Evan Oglesby joined White on the active/non-football injury list, according to the league source. The Dolphins didn't announce either transaction but that isn't unusual.
Oglesby missed a second straight practice Saturday morning, but Sparano said Oglesby is "getting much better" as he deals with an undisclosed illness. Bo White Jr., four years older than Pat, said Friday night he was "not even sure exactly what's going on." Bo White Jr. said he had spoken to his younger brother within the past few days.
"He seemed to be doing well," Bo White Jr. said in a phone interview from Daphne, Ala. "Everything seemed to be going all right. My parents are handling it now." Bo White Jr., while saying he believed his brother was still "excited" about playing football, suggested the issue could have something to do with motivation.
"I couldn't tell you what day he's going to be out there or when he's going to be back on the field," Bo White Jr. said. " "Being a young man, he's just trying to find – I'm trying to put this in the best way -- I guess his position in life. I think that may have something to do with it. Just life, you know, in general."
Asked if his brother is happy, Bo White Jr. said he believed Pat White, 24, is "in a good place right now."
"I would say he's content," Bo White Jr. said. "He's happy with where he is. It's just life. He's just dealing with life right now."
Pat White endured a trying rookie season after the Dolphins surprisingly chose him in the second round (44th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft out of West Virginia.
With the Mountaineers, White gained All-America status and set an NCAA record for most rushing yards (4,480) by a quarterback.
He went 34-8 as a three-year starter before signing a four-year, $4.75 million contract ($2.4 million guaranteed) with the Dolphins.
Expected to add an extra dimension to the Dolphins' Wildcat offense, White instead struggled to read defenses and failed to complete a single pass (in five attempts) all season. Despite appearing in 13 games, he rushed for just 81 yards on 21 carries .
White was knocked out of the Jan. 3 season finale against the Steelers on a vicious sideline hit to the helmet from defensive back Ike Taylor. White left Sun Life Stadium on a motorized cart and was held overnight at the hospital for observation.
That was White's second concussion in as many seasons, his brother said, including one against Rutgers as a college senior. However, White's current issue isn't believed to be directly related to those head injuries.
The diminutive left-hander was cleared to return to non-contact practice on May 19.
White drew praise this offseason from Sparano for the nine pounds of muscle he added to his slight frame. White also caught the coach's eye by improving his passing accuracy.
"This guy has really gotten himself bigger, stronger," Sparano said in late May. "You can see it in the way he's throwing the ball and the way he's carrying himself." On the 49 snaps White took last season, the Dolphins gained just 133 combined yards (2.7 average).
"It's the NFL," White said in May. "I've got to study more, work harder and try to be a little bit wiser on the field."
The speed of the professional game seemed to be a problem for White as a rookie.
"Hopefully, as I age and get older, it starts to slow down a lot more to where it's pretty much slow motion for me," White said in May. "I'm just trying to focus on the little things I have to get done, make myself better and we'll see where it goes from there."
White also starred in baseball while in high school in Daphne, Ala. He has been drafted four times by three different organizations, most recently by the Yankees in 2009, but his older brother said he didn't believe baseball was on his mind.
As White deals with his issue, fourth-year reserve Tyler Thigpen has become the favorite to assume the game-day No. 2 quarterback role behind starter Chad Henne. Veteran Chad Pennington, the Dolphins' starter for 20 straight games from 2008-09, is another strong backup option.
Thigpen didn't play until the finale against Pittsburgh after the Dolphins acquired him from the Chiefs last Sept. 29 for a fifth-round draft pick. Thigpen led a stirring fourth-quarter comeback in the wake of White's emotional exit that nearly wiped out a 27-10 deficit.
Pennington, who had a third major surgery on his throwing shoulder last October, is on schedule and taking third-string repetitions in practice. Pennington and White split those reps on Saturday morning.
