Tyler Huntley on joining the Dolphins: “Kind of like playing Madden”

The media heard today from Tyler Huntley, the Dolphins’ new quarterback — the local product and former Utah Ute who was signed from Baltimore’s practice squad to provide depth with Tua Tagovailoa out.

Here’s a transcript of his comments:

(Welcome back to South Florida. What’s it like playing in this building?) – “Man, it’s just like a dream come true. As a little kid, you’re looking up seeing the NFL and your home team being right there, you just want to be a part of it. I get the chance to be a part of it.”

(What was the moment you got the call that you’d be heading here to South Florida?) – “I had just got done working out at the Ravens facility and my agent called me and was like, ‘Man, it’s time to head home.’ I just had to get ready, take a shower, start packing my things that I could and come on down.”

(You’re smiling ear to ear. Is that the reaction you had? It’s got to be a little bit of a whirlwind.) – “Definitely. I’m telling you, I’m still in the stars a little bit being able to be home.”

(Were the Dolphins your team growing up?) – “I wouldn’t say team, but grew up watching the Dolphins because we’re right here at home.”

(Your high school Hallandale is not far from here. How does it feel to just really be in that proximity?) – “That means a lot. You got all of my people that I grew up with still down here. They’re able to get a chance to come out to the games if they can, it will be a nice thing.”

(How many people are going?) – “Oh, I don’t even know yet. (laughter)”

(What was your first reaction when you got your hands on the Head Coach Mike McDaniel playbook?) – “I was like he’s utilizing his weapons. I think it’s great what he’s doing over here. I can’t wait to get into it into it and be able to do some things with the things he’s got going on.”

(Why do you think that this is a good fit for you, this system?) – “You get to throw to some weapons and then we’re going to score a lot of points. I’m ready to contribute.”

(What is it like knowing if you were to get into a game, you have WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle in this offense?) – “It’s kind of like playing Madden. (laughter) You got a lot of weapons out there. You just got to go out there and play ball.”

(What was today like?) – “It was nice just getting out there. I’m watching the plays from a distance in the back trying to get the footwork down. It’s just amazing to see that speed out there. They’re running every play, it’s amazing to see.”

(How tough do you think it will be to get on timing? There is so much timing in this offense.) – “I got a good feel of it today. I was doing footwork from the time we stepped on the field. Coach (Mike McDaniel) is doing a great job of having me back there, going through the footwork. I’m trying to get it down, but I’m a quick learner and I should be ready.”

(How big of a hug you got from Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver?) – “Ah, it was a big hug. That’s my boy. It’s good to see familiar faces. It’s all love.”

(Do you think he advocated for you to be here?) – “I think he said some good things about me. I would hope my play did a good thing too.”

(What are you most looking forward to being back home?) – “Good weather. Good weather, good food. You know what’s around, those are the main things.”

(What’s your mindset coming into here and your understanding of what your role would be? Are you here to be someone who gives QB Skylar Thompson the assistance that he needs? What is your role going to be?) – “Definitely to be here for Skylar (Thompson) and when Tua (Tagovailoa) gets back, be there for Tua. Definitely get a grasp of this offense so whenever my time is called, I’ll be able to contribute.”

(What has surprised you most about learning this offense in the very early stages of it?) – “Just the different terminologies I got to get used to. All of the pre snap stuff, I just got to get in tune with it. It’s nothing – football is football. I should be able to do it.”

(What do you think an athletic quarterback can do in this system?) – “There is so much speed on the outside, a couple of QB runs up the middle and stuff, get the defense to play honest. There’s no way they could stick all of that speed at once.”

(Do you prefer Tyler or ‘Snoop?’) – “My momma would prefer Tyler. But everybody tends to call me ‘Snoop,’ so you can call me ‘Snoop.’”

(Have you ever met Snoop Dogg?) – ‘Yeah. Definitely, I met him at the Pro Bowl, and then I met him last year when we went out to L.A. for the game.”

(Do you think you look like him now? Or not so much?) – “(laughter) No, but back in the day I had long hair, so I kind of had a similar look to him.”

(Do you feel like this is kind of a career reset for you? A chance to kind of get things going in the right direction?) – “I think so. And just being in a great place like this, everything is new to me. I used to see the facility in Davie, so the facility being right next to the Hard Rock, practicing and seeing Hard Rock right there, it’s an amazing sight. So it’s a breath of fresh air and getting ready to work.”

(It’s obviously tough to learn a whole playbook in a week, but do you think you’ll have a package early on where you can just focus on one thing to learn?) – “No, I don’t think I would want to look at it like that, because in the heat of the battle, something pops up out of nowhere and you want to be on top of it rather than sitting out there just thinking ‘what is this?’ So I’m going to try to learn the whole thing and be ready to go.”

(What was your meeting with Snoop Dogg like? Did he know that your nickname was ‘Snoop?’) – “(laughter) Yeah, he called me ‘Lil’ Snoop.’ So when I threw a couple of touchdowns in the Pro Bowl he was like, ‘There you go Lil’ Snoop,’ so he was on me about that. But yeah, it was pretty cool.”

(Had you hoped Miami would call you when you saw the unfortunate thing that happened with QB Tua Tagovailoa? Had you started thinking about Miami? Had you hoped they would call?) – “I was thinking about it a lot. I was really thinking about it coming out of the draft and I was hoping Miami would have come and got me. But you know, God’s plan and we’re here now.”

(What are one or two of the things that you’ve learned from playing behind Lamar Jackson?) – “Oh man, he’s a gamer. He’s just a playmaker and great quarterback and a leader. He just shows you the great aspects of winning games and handling everything that’s going on – on the field and off the field. He’s great to learn from.”

(I know you’ve only been here a minute, but what are your first impressions of QB Skylar Thompson and how he’s handling this situation being thrown into this?) – “I think he’s taking it all in, he’s doing a good job. I remember seeing him when I had gone in playing against Cincinnati, he was playing against the Bills that same day when he came in the playoffs. So I think he’s going to do a great job, and he’s just got to stick to it.”

(You had to go all the way to Utah for college football coming out of Hallandale as a recruit, did you want to go to one of the Florida schools?) – “I did leading up to it was time to sign, I was ready to get out of Florida and explore. I hadn’t been too far from Florida prior so going to Utah, it was a great thing for me.”

(Did that leave a chip on your shoulder – not attending one of the state schools?) – “Yeah, definitely. Definitely. (laughter)”

(You mentioned you wanted to know the entire playbook, but you have a unique set of skills we haven’t really seen right here – your speed, your ability to be elusive. Are you going to lobby maybe for a ‘Snoop’ package that we see in games, kind of change in pace with QB Skylar Thompson?) – “(laughter) If Coach needs me to come in and step in a little bit, then I’m willing to do it. But I’m really just ready for – to step in and to win the game.”

(How much time did you spend with QB Tua Tagovailoa? How helpful has he been?) – “Man, I’ve been here 24 hours; I’ve probably spent a good little hour or two with Tua (Tagovailoa) in the meeting rooms a little bit and then walkthrough. I’ve just been talking to him and trying to get his grasp of the offense. He’s great. He’s great.”