Solomon Kindley is proving to be a good fit with the Miami Dolphins, already impressing the coaches with his attitude and physical style of play per published reports.
He’s a physical guy,” Miami head coach Brian Flores told the Palm Beach Post last week.
“To me, I would say that’s the one thing that stands out. He’s a physical kid. He plays the game physically and looks like he enjoys it. When you watch him play, you get the feeling that he enjoys the physical part of the game.”
The Dolphins felt so strongly about Kindley they traded up to get the 6-foot-4, 339-pound offensive guard him in the fourth round.
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“He’s obviously got physical attributes and a skill set,” Miami offensive line coach Steve Marshall said to the Palm Beach post last week. “My grandmother could see he’s a big man.”
Kindley, nicknamed “Big Fish” since his days as a lifeguard before Georgia recruited him out of Jacksonville, sounds like he is enjoying the NFL life.
“They’re just teaching me how to be a pro,” Kindley told the Dolphins’ team website, MiamiDolphins.com.
“Eating right, studying the film, writing down all the notes that need to be done when the coach is talking to me in a meeting, making sure I’m 30, 45 minutes to meetings early or I’ve got to lift, getting up early, getting my day started; and then not only that – teaching me a game of football, like stuff that most people won’t see that I’ve got to see.”
The Dolphins are one of the youngest teams in the NFL, with 38 first or second-year players on their roster.
Kindley was the third offensive lineman Miami selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
USC’s Austin Jackson went No. 18 overall in the first round, Lousiana’s Robert Hunt was a second-round pick selected No. 39 overall and then came Kindley in the fourth round, at No. 11 overall.
Kindley went lower in the draft than many expected going into his junior season on account of an injured ankle thatwasn’t completely healed when he appeared at the NFL combine.
Georgia, like several other schools, had its Pro Day canceled on account of COVID-19.
Kindley, unable to show his explosive quickness and power in the combine setting, was projected as a later-round pick.
But the Dolphins clearly did their homework.
Kindley showed leadership last season even while overcoming injury. He was a team captain last seaosn for Georgia’s wins over Vanderbilt, Missouri and Texas A&M.
He began his career as three-star product out of Raines High School. Kindley redshirted in 2016 season and then earned seven starts at right guard in 2017.
Kindley came into his own in 2018, taking over the left guard spot and starting all 14 games. He was named the Bulldogs’ Most Improved Offensive Player that season.
