Dolphins safety Jevon Holland, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and center/guard Michael Deiter met with the media earlier today. Check out the top quotes from their media availabilities.
S Jevon Holland
(On his experience to Las Vegas to check out the Pro Bowl earlier this offseason)
"It was great. It was a great experience. I felt super motivated. That was one of the best moments for me as a young player, as a competitor really. To see those guys out there, like this is the goal, this is where I want to get to. Having 'X' (Xavien Howard) there, 'X' is awesome. The whole time I was with him, tracking him, interviewing him or whatnot, he's a better guy than he is a football player. Seeing people that have been good in the league for a long time when I was a kid – like I saw Joe Haden and it was cool because I was like 'what's up.' And he was like 'I know who you are. What's good, Jevon?' He knew my name. I'm Jevon Holland, but that's Joe Haden. Do you know how many pairs of Jordan cleats he's got? That alone blew my mind. I told my dad the same thing and my brother too. That was dope."
(On where he's at now versus this time last year)
"Yeah, last year I was in an unknown environment. I was really nervous about everything. I had never been to Florida before. I went by the hotel we were staying at, there was a little lake. I went jogging by the lake and there was a frog. I'm thinking it's an alligator because I'm from California so I thought there was an alligator everywhere. I started tripping, running back to my room. But now I'm cool. I'm comfortable. I like being here. I love Florida – the sun, the sky, all of that. I was definitely nervous being here. It's the NFL. I was shaking in my boots, for lack of better terms. I feel way better now."
DT Christian Wilkins
(On the team picking up the fifth-year option on his contract)
"I think it's great. It's awesome. I'm glad I'm going to be able to be here for another year and I'm just blessed overall. Kind of what we talked about earlier with (the other) question, I'm just progressing each year and the team had to make a decision and they picked up my option. That's great. I'm excited I'm going to be here for at least another year."
(On S Jevon Holland)
"Jevon has a chance to be pretty good in this league. Just how he comes into work each and every day. That was the biggest thing that I learned. He even took a year off of ball before he got drafted and everything and still came in kind of ready to play and was able to do some really good things for us early on and it's just impressive to watch. He's athletic, he's big, and something that surprised me more than anything is just how cerebral he is back there. Like making the calls, doing some of the things you have to do at the safety position in our defense was really impressive. He's kind of a kid who just loves playing ball, too, so it's fun to watch. He brings that nice young spirit, too. He's a good teammate."
C/G Michael Deiter
(On what playing center last year taught him about the NFL)
"The more you can do, the more valuable you are. If you can play multiple positions, no matter what you do best, there's a chance for you to play and help a team out, whether it be practice squad, starter, backup, you name it. As long as you're willing to work and try to help the team win, there's always a chance."
(On new offensive line coach Matt Applebaum)
"So far he's been really cool. He's a detailed guy, an intense guy, but we're having a lot of fun. He's doing a really good job of keeping everything fun. He's been a great teacher so far. We're learning a ton. It's going to be a lot of fun working with him. So far it's been a lot of fun. He's definitely a cool dude. He's fun to be around but intense and a heck of a teacher."
(On the energy at practice)
"The energy is high. It's good. Everyone is excited to get better. We can see that if everyone is doing their job the way they're supposed to, we can be explosive. We can have a lot of fun doing it. The way to be explosive is with confidence and everyone working together and getting ready to cut it loose. It's been really exciting and high energy."
For additional press conferences, visit our press conferences page.
