UM edge player Agude trying to become latest Cane to make the Dolphins. What to know
No college has sent more players to the Dolphins than the University of Miami, and another is the early stages of a bid to join Jaelan Phillips on the Dolphins’ season-opening roster.
While the Dolphins released former Hurricanes offensive lineman DJ Scaife after two days of rookie minicamp, Miami is investing more time in fellow undrafted rookie Mitchell Agude.
Agude hopes to crack the 53 — or at least the practice squad — an an edge player/outside linebacker, a position where the Dolphins are loaded.
“It’s a blessing, being back in Miami,” Agude said last week during the Dolphins’ rookie minicamp. “It’s crazy because I just packed my stuff from UM to California, just to move back. It’s been a crazy process but it’s a blessing.”
What Agude has overcome to get to this point is remarkable; he spent nearly three days in a coma as a 9-year-old after slamming the back of his head onto a concrete skateboard ramp.
“The story is I got invited to a skate park by my friend,” he told the Miami Herald during his time at UM.
“I didn’t really know how to ride a skateboard. I remember going to the park, having my skateboard and looking at the ramp. The last thing I saw was the ramp. I don’t remember going down. I think what happened is I tried to go down like the turn pipe, the dip, or whatever, and that’s when I hit my head. I wasn’t wearing a helmet — so wear your helmet please.
“After that I don’t remember waking up. My parents kept praying and my whole family was there. A couple hours later I started getting movement. They did all the tests and I had no hemorrhaging anymore in my head, no blood in my head.”
Agude said the “next thing’’ he knew was “everything was normal.’’
Grace Agude said her son’s brain had been horribly swollen yet “when they went to do the MRI they couldn’t find anything and still can’t figure out what happened.’’
Standing last Friday on a practice field overlooking Hard Rock Stadium, Agude said “it damn near puts me to tears how blessed I am to even be in this situation. It’s crazy coming from a tragic mishap to where I am today.”
Agude played his first two seasons at UCLA and had 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles in 18 games for the Bruins. He transferred to UM after the 2021 season.
He was decent — but not dominant — in his one season with the Hurricanes, closing with 39 tackles, including seven for loss and four sacks.
“My physicality is one thing coaches like about me, being aggressive coming off the ball,” he said. “Being able to make someone not want to play: That’s my main goal when I’m on the field. I want to put fear in someone’s head. When the ball is snapped, he knows he has to go against Mitchell Agude.”
In some ways, he’s traveling a path similar to Phillips, who also joined the Dolphins after transferring from UCLA to Miami. But Phillips was a first-round pick; Agude arrives facing much longer odds.
“I’m going to have him as my role model,” Agude said of Phillips. “Everything he’s doing, I’m doing.”
Agude had several offers after the draft but picked Miami because “it’s somewhere I’m used to. Being a California guy coming to Florida is a good match. Seeing the roster, seeing the coach, it was an easy pick for me. I wanted to make sure I was in the best opportunity I could possibly put myself in.”
The Dolphins gave him a $20,000 guarantee.
During his mid-April visit to team headquarters, Agude said it became obvious that Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel “really cares about his players. That really stuck out to me.”
He also appreciates how Dolphins legend Jason Taylor helped him last season in his role as a Hurricanes analyst. (Taylor has since been promoted to defensive line coach.)
“He always harped on being a dog, every situation you’re in, [try to] win,” Agude said. “He’s so crazy that when he’s at a stop light, he’s trying to win to the next light. Every situation you want to win, every opportunity you get. That’s something that stuck out to me, something I want to bring here.”
He’s appreciative of this opportunity.
“I can’t put it to words how grateful I am to be in this situation,” Agude said. “I’m a Miami Dolphin. It can’t get any better than this.”
WYNN DEAL
As ESPN’s Field Yates first noted, the Dolphins gave offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn a one-year contract with a $2.3 million base salary and $400,000 in incentives.
The Dolphins are up against the salary cap but will get another $13.6 million in space when Byron Jones officially comes off their books on June 1.
Miami Herald sportswriter Susan Miller Degnan contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 10:04 AM.
