Ollie Gordon II is using his Dolphins jersey number as a motivating reminder
Ollie Gordon II is using his Dolphins jersey number as a motivating reminder
Ollie Gordon II isn't going to forget his slide in the 2025 NFL draft any time soon. The Miami Dolphins' sixth-round pick is going to wear a reminder of that weekend on his chest and back every time he suits up in the NFL with a No. 31 jersey.
"The Dolphins went out and chose me," Gordon told reporters Friday. "It's 32 teams in the NFL and 31 teams passed on me so why not use it [as motivation]?"
Gordon's slide to the second-to-last round in the draft wasn't a shock after he put up mediocre numbers in his final season at Oklahoma State. While he earned the 2023 Doak Walker Award, recognizing college football's best running back, he managed only 880 rushing yards in 2024 after recording 1,732 in the season prior.
But the Dolphins are hopeful they can get the 2023 version of Gordon.
"It's not the first time that we've come across an evaluation even at that particular school where you have someone have a really big year followed by maybe a year that they didn't anticipate or was underwhelming for them," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of Gordon shortly after the draft ended.
"The biggest thing is you try to meet the player, engage with him and see what the experience, how it's affected him. You're hoping that it burns a fire inside and I think it was pretty evident when we visited with him that he was eager to prove himself. So I think the '23 tape was very impressive and based upon our interactions with him, we feel optimistic that is the version that we're going to improve upon moving forward."
Step one for Gordon is learning how to be a member of the Dolphins offense.
"Coach Mike (McDaniel) knows how to use his players, and I'm just ready to be a part of that, be able to help the team anyway I can," Gordon said. "Even if that's playing special teams, but just to be there and just to see what's going on – Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill running all over the field. I feel like it will be huge to see.'
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