Safety Patrick McMorris — who the Miami Dolphins selected with the No. 198 pick in the sixth round 2024 NFL Draft — hung up on the team by accident on Saturday due to thinking he received a spam call.
New Dolphins safety Patrick McMorris said he thought the call informing him that the Dolphins drafted him 198th was a spam call. And so he did what all of us did – he hung up.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) April 27, 2024
Funny story with Cal safety Patrick McMorris: He's been getting spam calls recently, so when he got the call from an unknown number with the Dolphins, he hung up the first time after a couple seconds of silence.
Luckily, the Dolphins called right back. They drafted him in the…
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) April 27, 2024
Prior to his one-season stint playing college football at the University of California, Berkeley, he spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career with San Diego State University. He totaled 6.5 tackles for loss, came up with five interceptions and recovered two fumbles in 30 total games as an Aztec.
McMorris debatably saved his most statistically impressive season of college football for the 2023 campaign, when he was a member of the Golden Bears. He suited up in 13 games with the school and accumulated 50 solo tackles, 40 assisted tackles, 90 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
But despite McMorris’ special season from a defensive perspective, the Golden Bears lost more games than they won, as evidenced by their 6-7 record on the season and 4-5 record against teams in their conference.
The best safety on McMorris’ new team during the 2023 NFL regular season was arguably Jevon Holland. Holland — who was chosen in the second round by the Dolphins in the 2021 NFL Draft — played in 12 of Miami’s 17 regular-season contests.
In his third season in the NFL and with the Dolphins organization, he racked up 74 combined tackles, 52 solo tackles, 22 assists on tackles and three tackles for loss while also recovering one fumble.
But Holland was inactive for Miami’s playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 13 due to injuries he was dealing with in both of his knees.
Only time will tell if McMorris will be able to contribute on the field for the Dolphins in his inaugural season in the NFL. But a veteran like Holland — who knows what it takes to succeed as a safety at the highest level — could serve as a great role model for the youngster as he makes the jump from the college level to the NFL.
