Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Laremy Tunsil (Mississippi) is selected by the Miami Dolphins as the number thirteen overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Miami Dolphins first-round pick Laremy Tunsil, who became the story of draft night after a video of him smoking out of a bong and wearing a gas mask leaked on social media minutes before the start, says he is not worried about outside opinions.
Nine days after the draft, Tunsil was smiling and joking following the second day of rookie minicamp on Saturday.
“I’m not worried about that, everybody got their own opinions,” Tunsil said when asked about his character, according to ESPN.com. “I’m the only one who knows what kind of true character I have.”
The Dolphins signed the offensive tackle out of Ole Miss to a four-year contract on Friday, including a fifth-year option for the team. Tunsil is slotted to earn $12.5 million with a $7.3 million signing bonus.
Tunsil fell to the Dolphins at No. 13 last week after the video was released via Twitter as the draft began. Tunsil and his representatives said his social media accounts were hacked.
Tunsil is being reviewed within the NFL drug program and could begin his career classified as a previous offender.
At his post-draft news conference on April 28, Tunsil also admitted to taking money from a coach at Ole Miss, but he did not want to get into specifics Saturday.
“Man, you live and you learn,” Tunsil said after practice Saturday. “But hey, I’m glad to be here. I’m glad to be with this team. I’m glad to be going through this weekend, get to meet the coaches, get to meet some of the players, get to meet some of the vets. I’m blessed just to be here.”
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase was glad to see Tunsil focusing on football again.
“When you go through, kind of, that whole process, I’m sure if any of us went through that on draft day, it will be interesting to see how everybody else reacted,” Gase said. “I thought he handled it great. He did a good job last week in the press conference, and I think he’s just happy to be back in the building, getting back to football, doing what he loves.”
Tunsil was a three-year starter at Mississippi, where he played in 29 career games and started 26 at left tackle. He earned second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC honors in back-to-back seasons (2014-15).
