Former target of bullying trying to take Richie Incognito’s spot on Miami Dolphins
The bullying scandal in Miami was one of the bigger storylines in the NFL last season as Richie Incognito was at the center of repeated physical and emotional taunts toward former Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason.
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With Incognito not brought back to the team and likely having played his last down, one of the bigger bully’s is likely to be replaced by third-round pick Billy Martin who in an odd twist was bullied as a child growing up.
“I was the one getting bullied all the time by my older brother when I was growing up,” Turner said recently, via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “When I started playing football, I played up with older guys. I came in and played center right away, and everyone thought they were going to beat me up and bully me because I was younger. They thought I was going to be soft.
“But I just got out there and unleashed my anger. The anger I had built up from getting mad and [peeved] at my older brother was what came out in my play. That’s how I developed that strategy and that style of playing with a chip on my shoulder.”
That playing style helped Martin go from North Dakota State standout offensive tackle to a second day pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and could help him lockdown a starting spot at left guard which was vacated by Incognito.
“When I put the helmet on and I snap it up, it’s like a switch getting turned on,” Turner said. “I’m [full throttle] every play. I’m not going to give up on anything. And from the moment that ‘h’ comes out on the ‘hut’ I’m going to be as aggressive as I possibly can with the play call, trying to beat that guy and trying to bruise him.”
That’s the type of on-the-field aggression that the Dolphins need for their rebuild offensive line that also includes first round pick Ju’Wuan James who will try to earn the starting right tackle spot left by Martin.