DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -In the interest of explaining why Miami Dolphins wide receiver Greg Camarillo was a largely anonymous player before last weekend, here’s an update on his NFL career statistics.
He’s made six tackles.
He’s made four catches.
Not exactly a Canton-caliber resume.
“I wasn’t aware of him,” New England linebacker Junior Seau said. “But he did make a great play.”
That’s true, and after that one play – “scat left Ernie,” the Dolphins call it – just about everyone who follows the NFL is probably somewhat aware of Camarillo.
He caught a short pass from Cleo Lemon and sprinted for a 64-yard winning touchdown in overtime last Sunday to give Miami (1-13) its first victory of the season, 22-16 over the Baltimore Ravens, a play that made Camarillo an instant legend in the Dolphins’ locker room. The replay has been shown countless times, his phone is still blowing up with calls and texts, and all the attention is enough to make Camarillo a bit sheepish.
Not bad for a guy who entered last weekend with one career catch for 2 yards and was seeing virtually all of his action as a special-teams player.
“Obviously, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Camarillo said. “So I’m just enjoying the ride. I got a lot of support from my old friends, family, people that surround me and it definitely feels good.”
It should have felt good, because it took long enough for Camarillo to reach the end zone – in many ways.
Teammates have ribbed him a bit since Sunday because, um, let’s just say he won’t be the favorite in any team sprinting contests.
“He didn’t know he was that fast,” Lemon said.
Camarillo is a guy who turned down Harvard and walked onto Stanford’s football team in 2000, never caught a touchdown pass for the Cardinal, never had a catch go for more than 36 yards, yet still got into the NFL.
And now, his first pro touchdown is certain to go down in Dolphins’ lore. Once he crossed the goal line, Miami teammates and coaches spilled onto the field in celebration – putting an end, once and for all, to talk that the Dolphins would finish the year as the NFL’s first-ever 0-16 club.
“I don’t work hard for recognition, but it never hurts to get a little pat on the back,” said Camarillo, who had a similar overtime TD catch in high school. “I wish it wasn’t to get us one victory. I wish it was for a championship or something, but it had that feel to it, it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I could be part of it.”
His first NFL stop was San Diego, where he did enough to catch Cam Cameron’s eye.
When Cameron – the former San Diego offensive coordinator – came to the Dolphins as a rookie head coach this year, he gave Camarillo a shot in South Florida. The move paid off, and there’s probably a strong chance that Camarillo will be one of Lemon’s primary targets Sunday when the Dolphins visit the unbeaten New England Patriots (14-0).
“He’s done a great job blocking,” Cameron said. “He gives us a lot of flexibility and plays all three positions in our offense, and all four now with our four-wide-receiver set. You’ll see Greg out there.”
Cameron said he “absolutely” expects Camarillo’s confidence to soar after last weekend’s success.
“I reminded Greg, there is nothing older than yesterday’s success,” Cameron said. “Now he’s on people’s radar. … Now people are starting to actually go and look and see who that guy is.”
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