Chris Perkins: Dolphins rookie QB James Blackman ‘thankful’ for chance to play vs. Jacksonville

MIAMI GARDENS — Four references to God.

Eight references to a “blessing.”

Eight references to being “thankful.”

Four references to being “happy.”

This was my four-minute, five-second interview with Dolphins rookie quarterback James Blackman, and don’t discount the importance of the phrase “Dolphins rookie quarterback.”

A few days ago he was simply James Blackman, the former Glades Central, Florida State and Arkansas State quarterback. He was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in May, but he was waived on Aug. 7.

Now, he’s a NFL quarterback again, having been re-signed Monday.

And he’ll likely make his NFL debut in Saturday’s 7 p.m. preseason finale at Jacksonville. In other words, Blackman, a humble sort, could take the field less than a week after being (temporarily) out of football.

“If I get in, that’ll be a tremendous blessing,” Blackman said of the Jaguars game, which is just four days before Tuesday’s cut day, when rosters must be trimmed from 90 players to 53. 

“I’m thankful. If I’m just there with the guys, that’s a blessing. Either way it goes, it’s a blessing. Just being out here and practicing with the guys is a blessing. I look at it all as a blessing.”

Coach Mike McDaniel said he has an appreciation for Blackman’s situation.

“What an opportunity for a guy that deserves it,” McDaniel said. “All he’s done is put his best foot forward, and that’s a tough job sometimes when your literal job is to learn. You don’t get into playing football so that you can go to meetings, and sometimes that’s his role.”

Blackman was brought back Monday because quarterback Mike White was in concussion protocol as the result of a hit he took against Houston in Saturday’s 28-3 victory over the Texans.

After being waived, Blackman had been working out in Fort Lauderdale at the Bozeman Academy with his quarterbacks coach, Oliver Bozeman, the ex-Dillard and Alcorn State player who has worked with quarterbacks such as Mike Vick, Teddy Bridgewater and Chicago’s Justin Fields.

Bozeman said they would sometimes do two or three sessions a day counting video and mental work. 

Blackman would meet with Bozeman in the morning before a workout or in the afternoon after a workout, and they’d have a play sheet and they’d go over every single play they ran that day.

“One of the major things that I would do with him was instead of just just giving him the play, I would actually give him the play from the opposite side, so if the play was on the sheet to the right side he’d have to call the play out to the left side,” Bozeman said, “just so he got in the habit of understanding how the play works from both sides. It’s being able to see things without actually having physical objects there to see it.”

Physically, at 6 feet 6, 185 pounds, Blackman is thin. But don’t be fooled. 

“He does look rather thin, but James is really, really strong,” Bozeman said. “James has developed an understanding of knowing how to use the entire body when throwing the football. So it’s not just the arm process, but understanding how your throwing arm and throwing leg also work together.

“That was the biggest thing that I worked on with James going into the process heading into the draft, I noticed that he relied so much on the arm because he’s a strong kid. He can throw the ball 65-70 yards. But once you understand how to incorporate your lower body with your arm when making throws it makes the process a little bit easier and a little bit smoother, and you also have a little bit more pop and a little bit more zip coming off the ball because you understand how the body works together.”

Blackman doesn’t often get repetitions in 11-on-11 drills because those go to quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Skylar Thompson and White. Blackman usually gets his reps in 1-on-1 drills and by doing so-called “mental reps,” meaning he goes through plays in his head while on the sideline.

He got a few 11-on-11 reps Thursday and it didn’t necessarily go well. He had two fumbled snaps, one of which bounced off his knee in the shotgun formation.

But he also had a well-thrown 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Julian Hill in a red-zone drill.

It’s all part of the preparation for Blackman’s appearance at Jacksonville.

“That’s all they’re (asked) to do is give me an opportunity, and they gave me that and I was thankful for that opportunity,” Blackman said. “Now I’m back, I’m thankful for this opportunity, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to continue to live this dream out.”