By Will Vandervort (Contact / Staff Bio)

Originally published April 26, 2008, 06:43 p.m. EST. Updated April 26, 2008, 09:59 p.m. EST

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Rex Brown

Former Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling was selected by Miami at No. 32 overall in Saturday's 2008 NFL Draft. Merling had 78 tackles, 7 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss during his junior season last fall at Clemson. Helped the Tigers rank in the top 25 nationally in all four major areas defensively in 2008.

CLEMSON — Phillip Merling did not see any of what transpired Saturday afternoon in the NFL Draft coming. He did not see himself slipping out of the first round, and he definitely did not see the Miami Dolphins selecting him.

“This came out of the blue,” Merling said in a teleconference from his grandmother’s house in St. Matthews. “This was a shocker to me. I’m just glad that it’s all over with and I’m glad that I’m with a good team.”

The good team thing can be debated considering the Dolphins finished last year 1-15 – the NFL’s worst record. But that’s why the Dolphins selected Merling as their second pick, and as the 32nd pick overall – the first pick of the second round.

The Dolphins first met Merling at the Senior Bowl, spoke with him during the combine and were in Clemson last Thursday to watch him workout. Obviously they think he can help turn around a struggling franchise.

“I’m just glad everything worked out,” Merling said.

It looked for a while things might not workout for the former Clemson defensive end. While watching the first round with his family, he watched one team after another draft over him, with the team many expected to select him – the Washington Redskins – trading their pick at 21 to Atlanta. After that, all teams that were shopping for a defensive end also passed on his 78 tackles and 17 tackles for a loss.

“I was surprised a little bit (about dropping), but it doesn’t really matter at all right now,” Merling said. “I’m happy with where I’m going. I’m going to a good team that’s competitive and I just want to play.

It doesn’t matter if I go in the first or second round.”

A lot of the so-called experts had Merling going in the first round, but when word got out that he had surgery to repair a sports hernia his stock dropped from a potential top 10 selection to a mid-level first round selection. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound end tried to prove to NFL scouts and coaches at a private workout last Thursday in Clemson that his sports hernia was healed and wasn’t going to be a problem. However, it seemed only as if Miami was interested.

“I was getting nervous waiting for my name to get called, if I was going in the first, but that’s okay, though,” Merling said. “I’m in the second round early and it doesn’t really matter where I’m at, it matters where I end up.

“This is how I start and I’ll finish a lot stronger and a lot different.”

Merling injured his hernia during camp last August, and in spite of it, still finished fifth on the Clemson defense in tackles, while leading the squad in sacks (7) and tackles for a loss.

“It affected me a lot last year,” he said. “My leg was hurting in the games. A lot of days it was hurting after the games. When I was at training, I remember I wasn’t getting top speed at a lot of things and I was wondering what was going on.

“At the combine, when the medical trainers found I had a hernia, I just had the surgery and I’m fine now. I worked out, I had no pain after the work out; so that was good. Now I’m just ready to get back into the helmet and shoulder pads.”

Merling is expected to report to Dolphins mini-camp in a few weeks, and he says he will be at 100 percent when he reports.

“I will be there, full speed and ready,” he said.

The first Clemson players selected by Miami since 1998 when Jim Bundren and Lorenzo Bromell were both taken by the franchise, Merling says he is excited to get the opportunity to play behind All-Pro defensive end Jason Taylor.

“I really do look up to Jason Taylor and I like the way he plays, how fast and aggressive he is,” Merling said. “I know it will be a good opportunity to learn behind him and learn with him and experience winning.”

When he begins mini-camp, Merling understands he has a lot of work to do in order to improve and become the player the Dolphins want him to be. He said a lot of scouts gave him some good advice on what to expect and what he needs to do to get better.

“I think I am a balanced defensive end. I think I contain the run extremely well and get to the quarterback. I think I do a lot of things,” he said. “I think I play natural, I don’t try doing some things, I just do it. I think those qualities will help me out there.

“They all said I could use some more technique. That’s just what everyone wanted, technique in getting to the quarterback more. But other than that, they said I played the game very well. I play hard, I run with my motor on, I don’t stop, and that’s the key out there.”

Notes on Merling’s selection:

Merling is the 15th Clemson underclassman to turn professional since the rule was adopted in 1989. He is the 13th underclassman to be drafted. He is the highest drafted Clemson underclassman since Anthony Simmons was a first round pick after the 1997 season, his junior year.

Clemson has now had a defensive player drafted within the first 32 players of the NFL draft three consecutive years. Clemson, Tennessee, LSU, Miami (FL) and Ohio State are the only schools in the nation to have a player taken within the first 32 picks of the NFL draft each of the last three years. Tennessee, Miami and Clemson are the only schools with a defensive player taken within the top 32 picks each of the last three seasons.

Merling is the first Clemson player drafted by the Dolphins since the 1998 draft when Jim Bundren and Lorenzo Bromell were both taken by that franchise. Bromell was a fouth-round pick and Bundren was a seventh round selection. The last Clemson player to play for the Dolphins was Keith Adams, who was a linebacker for that team in 2006.

Clemson Players Who have Turned Professional Prior to Senior Year

Year Player, Pos Draft Result

1989 Terry Allen, RB 9th round, Minnesota Vikings

1990 Dexter Davis, CB 4th round, Arizona Cardinals

Chris Gardocki, P 3rd round, Chicago Bears

1991 Chester McGlocton, DT 1st round, Oakland Raiders

1992 Ronald Williams, RB Not drafted, played in Canada

1996 Trevor Pryce, DT 1st round, Denver Broncos

1997 Anthony Simmons, LB 1st round, Seattle Seahawks

1998 Rahim Abdullah, OLB 2nd round, Cleveland Browns

Corey Hulsey, OT Not Drafted, Free Agent, Buffalo

2000 Keith Adams, LB 7th round, Tennessee Titans

2003 Derrick Hamilton, WR 3rd, San Francisco 49ers

Donnell Washington, DT 3rd, Green Bay Packers

2004 Justin Miller, CB 2nd, New York Jets

2006 C.J. Gaddis, CB 5th, Philadelphia Eagles

2007 Phillip Merling, DE 2nd, Miami Dolphins