Jared Odrick posted on his Twitter account Wednesday that he and his Dolphins defensive line mates “made out like fat rats” in their recent holiday gift exchange.

Odrick posted photos of a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac and a home theater system he received in the exchange. The truth is, the gift Odrick is most thankful for this Christmas is his health.

After missing all but one game last season to a broken left foot and fractured fibula, the 6-5, 304-pound, first-round pick out of Penn State in 2010 has become a valuable pass rusher for the Dolphins, posting five sacks (third-most on the team) and cracking the starting lineup six times.

With two games left in what really has been his rookie season, Odrick said he has learned a lot about resiliency this year after the Dolphins’ 0-7 start. And that’s a message he hopes to carry with him when he meets with his former college coach, Joe Paterno, shortly after the season.

Paterno, who turned 85 on Wednesday, is battling what his family has called a treatable form of lung cancer. Odrick said he has been eager to speak with Paterno since he was fired last month amid the sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky, and is hoping to visit Paterno in his home.

“I said my peace [last month] on Twitter that it’s unfortunate Joe had to go out that way and I got flak about it,” Odrick said. “But the thing is, I’ve had a wonderful relationship with him and all the coaches I was coached by. I didn’t have a relationship with the man who created all that havoc over there.

“It’s just sad to see someone you know as a friend, as a coach and as such a figure in your personal life that things have to come to an end that way. That’s all I was saying in my statements. I was sad. But at the same time, I do feel horrible about what happened to the victims.”

Appreciative

Odrick said he has come to appreciate Paterno even more now that he’s no longer playing for him. Odrick said the life lessons he learned from Paterno — team-first concepts and tradition — have stuck with him.

“The crazy thing is, people think you have to remind him who you are. He sees you, he remembers your name, remembers what you did,” Odrick said. “He loves all his former players. He stood for a lot. You only realize that when you’re gone.”

Dolphins outside linebacker Cameron Wake, who also played at Penn State, isn’t sure what Paterno would think of Odrick’s sack celebration, the Pee-Wee Herman dance. But the Dolphins’ sack leader — much like veteran Jason Taylor — hates it.

“Other than that one glaring negative — that dance — he’s a good guy,” Wake said.

“The thing about it is, it’s third-and-10, you blow past a 300-pound man, you smash the quarterback and now you get up and do something soft like play patty cake? Do something aggressive — that’s my opinion. That dance would never crawl into my mind.”

Wake, though, is happy to get the contributions from Odrick that come before the dance. Safety Yeremiah Bell said Odrick is “an energy player” for the Dolphins and “you can tell how happy he is to be on the field.” Like Taylor and himself, Bell said he can see Odrick finding a spot on the Dolphins’ defense for many years to come.

‘having fun’

Heading into Saturday’s game at New England, Odrick ranks 17th according to ProFootballFocus.com among 3-4 defensive ends in the league with a 2.7 overall rating. That’s second on the team behind Randy Starks (eighth, 8.8) and ahead of Kendall Langford (21st, -0.1).

“People really have no idea how frustrated I was last year,” said Odrick, who intercepted a deflected pass by Tom Brady and returned it 39 yards the first time the Dolphins faced the Patriots this season.

“It was frustrating because I felt I had so much to give and it was all bottled in. I guess this year has been a relief in that I’m on the field, I’m playing football again and having fun with my teammates and I’m playing well enough where I’m making an impact on the game.”