Miami bound
By Andy Brown, The Messenger
Wednesday morning Thomas Olmsted was busy packing up his car to begin a five hour drive to Lake City, Fla.
From there, the former Troy University standout will board a plane bound for Miami to begin a journey he's been waiting to take his entire life.
Olmsted, a four-year starter for the Trojans, has inked a free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins and will begin his professional football career on Friday with a physical and a pair of practices.
“I'm pretty anxious,” Olmsted said while driving to his home in Lake City. “I'm not really nervous, but I'm anxious to get down there and see what things are like. I've been waiting for this a long time, so I'm just excited about getting down there to Miami and finally seeing what it's like.”
Olmsted, who averaged 40.4 yards per punt as a senior, grew up about two hours outside of Jacksonville, Fla., and dreamed of one day punting for the Jacksonville Jaguars. While his dream of joining the Jaguars didn't play out on draft day, Olmsted is excited to heading back to the Sunshine State and trying to earn a spot on the Dolphins' roster.
“I love Troy, but I'm real excited to be heading back to Florida,” Olmsted said. “My experience here has been great, but there's just something about Florida.”
Olmsted's return to the sun and sand almost didn't happen.
According to the Troy senior, the Baltimore Ravens showed considerable interest on draft day in acquiring his services.
“Baltimore got in touch with me right before their pick in the sixth round and talk to me some like they might be getting ready to take me, but once they made their pick it wasn't me,” Olmsted said with a laugh. “Then Miami called me after their last pick in the seventh round and talked to me some. I also got a call from Washington to let me know that they were interested in signing me, but I already knew that Miami was the place for me.”
Aside from the sunny weather and ocean views, Olmsted was also attracted to the Dolphins because of the chance to come in and compete for a job immediately.
“They basically told me the job was open,” Olmsted said. “They told me that every day this summer would be like a tryout. Every single day we practice is a judgment day and I guess if I have won more of those days at the end of camp I'll get the job.”
Olmsted will be competing with Donnie Jones.
Jones is in his second year with the Dolphins and his third year in the NFL after playing his college ball at LSU, where he averaged 40.3 yards per punt as a senior.
Last season, Jones punted the ball 88 times for an average of 43.5 yards per punt.
While earning a spot on the Dolphins squad is far from a certainty, Olmsted is excited to have the opportunity.
“I just have to go and prove myself,” he said. “I think my time at Troy prepared me for that. Not only did I get to start for four seasons, but I came in as the new guy that had to prove himself right away. That's kind of the situation I'm going into with Miami. I have to go in and prove that I deserve to be there. I'm excited about the challenge.”
For Olmsted, the challenge is just one more step in the journey of realizing his dream of playing professional football.
“This has been my dream my whole life,” Olmsted said. “I've wanted to do this for as long as I can remember.
“It's kind of hard to believe that I finally have a chance. When I told my family I had signed my parents went crazy and started jumping up and down and my sister started crying. It was awesome to be able to share that with them because they knew that I finally had a chance to realize my dream.”
Olmsted will practice twice with the Dolphins on Friday and Saturday and once on Sunday.
http://www.troymessenger.com/article...s/sports01.txt
Troy Punter Miami Bound
Troy Punter Miami Bound
Theres no stoppin' us, no holdin us back. This is the trick of our trade, this is exactly what we do best!
Linear Mode
