From Mission Prep to the NFL: Patrick Laird looks forward to third year with Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins’ running back Patrick Laird — who rose from Mission Prep to the NFL — said he feels ‘lucky’ to be playing professional football.

Laird, who spent much of his offseason training in San Luis Obispo County, leaves for Florida this week, entering his third season with the Dolphins.

Laird, a walk-on at Cal’s football team who exploded on the scene in his final two years, had considered a career in finance or law while still in college, dreaming of an NFL career while realizing it was a long shot.

“The opportunity to play at this level has been fantastic, and I want to keep on going with it,” Laird said. “The fact that I’m still playing, I feel very lucky and fortunate. It’s stressful, but I keep working hard to play as long as I can and help the Dolphins win football games.”

At 6 feet, 205 pounds Laird isn’t a physically imposing player, and he said he mostly blends into the San Luis Obispo community with other people of relatively average size. Still, occasionally local fans who know of him come up to greet him in public.

The 25-year-old has worked on “all facets” of his game to make contributions on the field, scoring his first NFL touchdown in 2019 while rushing for 168 years on 62 carries as a backup.

In 2020, Laird tallied 72 yards on 13 rushes, increasing his average yards per carry to 5.5 after logging 2.7 per carry in 2019. He also has caught 33 passes for 272 yards in his two-year career.

“Last year, I really was able to just focus on playing the game, and not be distracted by everything that comes along with being in the NFL,” Laird said. “After awhile, it becomes just like college or high school. You’re just playing the game you grew up with, but it’s just a lot harder to get yards.”

Laird said after Miami finished with a 5-11 record in 2019, he was excited when the team went 10-6 last year, nearly making the postseason.

“It was really fun to play in meaningful games in December,” Laird said. “The last two games, we were in position to make the playoffs and we’re trying to build on that.”

Training in SLO County

Laird said he enjoyed being home for the last few months, taking advantage of some down time while also training at Headstrong Fit in SLO with CEO and founder Robbie McLaughlin. His girlfriend also joined him on California’s coast.

“I worked out a lot with him to get stronger, faster and more explosive going into this season,” Laird said. “Occasionally, I’d work with local high school and junior high kids and catch some balls (to practice receiving). It was great to go train in the hills and run dunes like I used to growing up here. It brings back good memories.”

As a star at Mission Prep, Laird was known for his early-morning workouts, dashing up sandy hills at the Oceano Dunes, which helped prepare him to put up huge numbers his senior season in 2013.

In his final year of high school, he totaled 3,117 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns on the ground, making him the third-best rusher in California in yards gained and the ninth-best in the nation, according to MaxPreps.com.

Back then, it would have been hard for him to imagine a realistic pro career. He wasn’t even offered a college scholarship at Cal, and it took him four years (including a redshirt season) to see any meaningful playing time at the Pac-12 level.

But he knew he could hang with college competition after scrimmaging in practice and honing his skills, and when he got his chance in games as a redshirt junior, he racked up 1,449 total yards and nine touchdowns, followed by 1,249 total yards and nine touchdowns as a senior.

Local players in NFL

Laird isn’t the only SLO County high school grad playing in the NFL.

Others include Paso Robles graduates Bailey Gaither (undrafted free agent who signed with the Green Bay Packers out of San Jose State this season) and Josh Oliver (who played four games with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 and now is a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars).

“Our area doesn’t have the size of population as L.A. or Orange County, so it’s definitely harder to get recruited, but some of our local guys have been taking advantage of their opportunities and reaching their goals, which is great to see,” Laird said.

Laird said his adjustment to the NFL has included learning to block out the distractions that come along with pro sports — media, built-in pressure, national TV exposure and stadiums packed with fans.

“The stakes are higher,” Laird said. “But it was incredibly validating to score my first touchdown (in 2019). It was surreal.”

Laird said that players might work on certain plays for weeks or months, finally to get their chance on the field, which can result in a burst of adrenaline and celebration.

“When you see a guy celebrate after a first down, they might have been working on that in practice and waiting weeks just to get a chance to run that play,” Laird said. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal to a fan maybe, but it can be huge for the guys on the field.”

Fame and pressure

He’s built a good rapport with the members of his team, saying famous players such as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a key player for national NCAA champion Alabama during his college years and highly touted draft pick, is “just like a normal guy.”

Laird said that while players train hard physically, much of their time is spent in the film room watching tape and breaking down plays.

“I’ll be asked to run, catch and block, and I really worked on pass protection this year as well,” Laird said. “So much of our time is spent in film rooms.”

Laird said he was happy to make it through a full season healthy in 2020, despite the aches and pains of NFL hits and a longer season than college, acknowledging he has been hit hard a few times in games but nothing too serious.

“Really, my goal is making the team again and playing at this level as long as I can, and just helping the team win,” Laird said. “It’s really hard to play at this level, but I can’t complain because it’s really awesome to be in this position.”

Laird will earn $850,000 in 2021, which brings his career earnings to more than $2 million, according to salarysport.com.

Locally, Laird called it “a great honor and unexpected” to have his jersey retired at the school (in January 2020) to inspire current and future athletes.

“The school has been very supportive of me and my career,” Laird said. “It was an honor they did that.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

Nick Wilson

The Tribune

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Nick Wilson is a Tribune contributor in sports. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley and is originally from Ojai.