

	Volume 2, Number 2

JOEY HAYNOS

At 6 feet 8, Dolphins tight end Joey Haynos is the tallest player on the team and very easy to spot whenever he's on the field. The second-year player out of the University of Maryland has stepped further into the spotlight this season as the second tight end in Miami's offense because veteran David Martin was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury. But Haynos, a native of the Washington, D.C., does not feel at all out of place.

Just as he did in college with the Terps against Clemson, Haynos burst on the scene last year by making his first professional catch count for six points as he hauled in a 19-yard scoring pass from Chad Pennington in the second quarter on Dec. 14, 2008 against the San Francisco 49ers. That proved to be the game-winner as the Niners were held to two more field goals the rest of the way. It was one of only two catches Haynos made all season for a total of 22 receiving yards.

A former high school quarterback, tight end and linebacker as well as a forward/center on his basketball team, Haynos has used his athleticism to carve out a niche for himself in the NFL. With his one TD catch last year, he helped Miami's tight ends tie the franchise mark for most touchdown receptions from that position in a single season with 11. Anthony Fasano caught seven and Martin caught three. The trio also set the franchise mark for total receiving yards by the tight ends with 926.

Haynos discussed how ready he was to step into Martin's role at the start of the season, what skills from basketball he feels have helped him the most on the football field, what Head Coach Tony Sparano is like in the locker room and which current tight end he pays the most attention to, among other things, during an exclusive one-on-one interview with Andy Kent for this installment of First-and-10.

1.

In high school, in addition to tight end you played linebacker and quarterback as well. What was that like in high school playing all three positions, and did either of those positions help you develop more as a tight end?
I was sort of a backup quarterback my sophomore year and I didn't play much quarterback. I threw the ball a couple times my senior year, but I didn't play a lot of it. And as far as linebacker, well, I was a tight end, but being a quarterback helped me because the more you know about an offense the better you can be at any position. If you play 'Y' and you know what the 'X' does, it still helps you because you know what they're doing.

2.

Did you play any other sports in high school, what position did you play, and how good were you?
I played basketball and I was a forward/center. I was on a very good team and I was the sixth, seventh or eighth man depending on the situation. We won the Washington, D.C., city title my senior year and we were pretty good. I did a little bit of everything. I'd like to think I was a shooter, but I probably wasn't. I was probably in there more for defense and rebounding.

3.

Obviously, there are a few tight ends in this league who excelled as basketball players as well, like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. Are there any skills on the basketball court that can be applied to football; and, if so, what are they?
I didn't really excel. I probably excelled when I got to college and played intramural but not on the high school level, really. But absolutely there are basketball skills that transcend and help in football. I've always been a big believer in the more sports you play, the better athlete you're going to be because there are so many things that transfer over from different sports that can help you. When you play one sport your whole life, you're sort of just in that groove and in that rut and it doesn't make you as good of an athlete as you probably can be. So whenever I give advice to little kids I always tell them to play as many sports as you can because you never know what skill you're going to pick up in that sport that will help you in another sport. Rebounding in basketball absolutely has helped me as a tight end because if you can get position on a defensive back, it's similar to rebounding. If you can just put yourself between the ball and them, you're in good shape.

4.

The first catch you ever made in college at Maryland was for a touchdown against Clemson and the first catch you made as a pro was for a touchdown last year against San Francisco. How neat was that?
That's pretty cool. It's pretty neat. The first catch for a touchdown, you really can't beat it. I would have been pretty disappointed if my first catch was just a catch, so I'm glad it got to be a touchdown. It's exciting.

5.

Did you keep both footballs?
I didn't keep the ball from college. I have no idea where that might be, but I definitely kept the one from San Fran. It was John Beck who went and got it for me because I told him before the game I was going to spike it. I caught a bunch of passes during the week and he said, 'What are you going to do if you score a touchdown today?' And I said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do, but I know I'm going to spike it.' He said, 'You can't spike it. You've got to keep it. It's your first touchdown.' I said, 'No, I'm going to spike it,' so when I scored he started running down there to get the ball.

6.

Now this year obviously you have a year under your belt and during training camp you talked about how much you were able to learn from Anthony Fasano and David Martin. When Martin got hurt and got placed on IR and you found out that obviously you were going to have a bigger role in this offense, how ready did you feel to step into that role and how much did they help prepare you?
Well, I felt ready. Dave was hurt during OTAs and that really helped me learn the position and I played a lot of it during training camp and I have a year of experience under my belt and I felt very ready. I am still confident and ready. Being ready is what it's all about in this league. For a guy like me, your career's going to be defined by opportunities like this, so I've got to make the best of it.

7.

What is Joey Haynos like off the field and away from the practice facility?
I'm a pretty easygoing guy and easy to get along with, I think. Some people might disagree. As far as during the season I don't do much because I'm usually pretty tired but I listen to music, watch TV and read books, the standard stuff.

8.

Do you have any outdoor hobbies?
I like to play golf. In the offseason I play a lot of golf, so when I get home I play with my dad and my brother and down here there are a couple of guys that play, so I try to get out with them.

9.

We've all heard how intense Coach Tony Sparano is, but what's it like in the locker room before a game or at halftime? What type of speech does he give to get you guys ready?
He really knows how to push our buttons to motivate us - in a good way, I'm saying. Obviously, he's extremely passionate about this game and he can certainly feed off our energy and say the right things to really get us going. Speaking for myself personally and listening to some of the stuff he says, he can really get me going before a game or even in practice. Just some of the things he says about how hard we work, we take pride in it and he says it and he gets me going.

10.

Is there a tight end that you watched closely coming up through college or whose game you like to try to emulate?
I've watched Heath Miller from the opposite sideline when he was at Virginia and I was at Maryland for a couple of years and obviously he's been great up in Pittsburgh, so I like watching him. He does a lot of things well as another big guy and I like watching him.