Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel says cornerback Jalen Ramsey has the spirit, determination and work ethic of Rudy Ruettiger, the movie hero who overcame a lack of talent to make it onto the Notre Dame football team — except that Ramsey also has elite talent.
McDaniel made the analogy today when asked about Ramsey, saying that he has never seen a player do as much to support his team while injured as Ramsey did while he was rehabbing the knee injury he suffered at the start of training camp.
“When your most talented players epitomize your beliefs,” McDaniel said, “when you have the most talent, and then you exhibit the model of Rudy, the guy that you’re like, Wow! You have Rudy in a once-in-a-generation type skill set.”
It took Ramsey three months to recover from the injury and get onto the field, and he has still played only three games as a Dolphin. But McDaniel already considers Ramsey one of his all-time favorite players.
“I can’t say enough good things about that guy. One of my top three favorite players of all time and we’ve only been in a game situation three times,” McDaniel said.
Perhaps for Ramsey, a season that started with an injury can have a fairytale ending like Rudy.
