Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline had a bumpy offseason, missing last month's minicamp after an appendectomy and attending, but not participating in, some of the OTAs.
Hartline, who wants one day to become an NFL general manager, used his spectator status to provide a scouting report on first-round quarterback Ryan Tannehill in an interview with Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on WQAM-AM on Saturday.
"He definitely has a presence," Hartline said of Tannehill. "Which is great. He's a guy that, he knows what he wants, he knows the offense. I think that definitely helps him a lot ... For me, I feel like the first couple of weeks, you hope to see flashes. Because you've got to have something there, and there's no doubt in my mind that I saw flashes. The ball coming out of his hand is good, is great. His timing is really good. On a couple of routes, you can tell he's really comfortable. He can plant that foot and release without any gather step, so there's definitely some flashes.
"Tannehill did a great job of blending in and not necessarily, you know, being a first-round pick quote unquote, and being a diva kind of guy, so he's definitely a good kid. He works hard, he has a good ball, he has good placement on the ball, and he's got a good grasp of the game of football, and that's definitely the things you want to see through the first part of camp and everything, and he has done that. So that's definitely encouraging."
Encouraging for the future, but given Tannehill's lack of experience (just 19 starts at quarterback for Texas A&M), the starting job in Miami this year is expected to go to either last year's starter Matt Moore or veteran free-agent addition David Garrard.
While that competition will unfold before camera crews from NFL Films for HBO's "Hard Knocks", ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that Garrard has the early lead in the race, which comes as no surprise to Brian Biggane of The Palm Beach Post.
