Uche fulfills childhood dream by signing with hometown Dolphins
When Josh Uche and his younger brother, Victor, hovered around their PlayStation 2 playing Madden, Josh always picked Miami as his team.
“I definitely thank the Dolphins for being a big part of my childhood. I’m sure they didn’t know that at the time,” Uche joked.
He won’t have to imagine himself playing for his childhood team anymore. Earlier this month, the Miami native signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins after spending last season with the Philadelphia Eagles and making previous stops with the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs.
“It feels like a dream come true,” Uche said. “It’s a full-circle moment, and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Long before the NFL, before Michigan, Uche was just a skinny, unrecruited transfer walking into Miami Columbus High School.
But at Columbus, the dream stopped being something he watched and started becoming something he chased.
That’s when defensive line coach Pete Marti entered the picture and helped transform that thin, overlooked prospect into a national recruit pursued by programs like Alabama, Miami and Michigan.
“I could tell right away how twitchy and quick he was,” Marti said. “So we started laying the foundation, his stance, footwork, hand placement, all that type of stuff. I knew he had a Division I skill set. It just needed to grow and develop.”
The two began staying after practice to fine-tune the details, stance, hands, footwork and arriving early to study film and break down opponents.
“He was just hungry for knowledge, and he still is to this day. He’s always working on his craft, taking care of his body, always wants to talk football,” Marti said. “He was always hyperfocused on being the best version of himself, and not as much on the typical distractions of a teenager.”
By the time graduation rolled around, Uche was off to Michigan, where he earned All-Big Ten honors in 2019 before being selected with the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.
This type of rapid development doesn’t happen everywhere. At Columbus, sports aren’t just part of the experience, they make up the environment, recently producing high-level talent such as Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and projected top NBA Draft pick Cameron Boozer.
Uche’s former head coach, Chris Merritt, now the head coach at Division I Bryant, explained that the school’s environment is built to nurture and develop talent.
“Columbus is just a unique place. Every class is like a locker room, it’s a brotherhood,” Merritt said. “You can just coach kids there differently.”
For Uche, being in such a supportive environment changed the trajectory of his life.
“That’s when my game took off. From the drills he ran to the way he carried himself off the field, he held us accountable,” Uche said of Marti. “Him and his wife, Melissa — it was like something you’d see on ‘Friday Night Lights.’ They even went with me on my visit to Michigan. They turned my career around.”
While he may now be returning to Miami on a full-time basis, Uche has stayed true to how he got to this point, spending most of his NFL offseasons training with Marti.
The tools he developed there have carried over to the pro level, where he has racked up 109 tackles, 21.5 sacks and two forced fumbles throughout his career.
His best NFL season came with the Patriots in 2022, when he finished with 11.5 sacks while totaling 27 tackles and two forced fumbles.
While Uche hasn’t been able to replicate the impressive statistics from that season, the analytics still point to him being an effective pass rusher.
Based on Pro Football Focus’ pass-rushing ratings, Uche ranked as the 13th-highest graded pass rusher in the NFL last season, even ahead of Pro Bowlers such as T.J. Watt and Jared Verse.
“It means I’m winning the hard part, which is those matchups — getting to the quarterback, getting off the ball, all those different intricacies,” Uche said.
For Uche, the next step is turning these wins into sacks.
“I think I just need to close off those home runs by getting there and getting there a step quicker.”
As he works toward taking that next step, his journey has brought him back to where it once started.
And now that he’s back home, the people who poured so much into him will be able to watch him up close on a regular basis.
“I’m super excited and super proud,” Marti said. “That’s why I coach. These are guys I talk to regularly. I’ve been to their weddings. It allows you to build these lasting relationships”
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 4:18 PM.
