NFL

Physical 'Canes CB Tyrique Stevenson opens eyes at Senior Bowl

Joe Schad
Palm Beach Post

MOBILE, Ala. ― Tyrique Stevenson knows how to play to his strengths.

"I'm physical," Stevenson said this week at the Senior Bowl. "So sometimes, at the line of scrimmage, I like to use my hands. I like to use my physicality and my weight. You know, receivers get away with everything. Just try to use my physical strength and my aggressiveness to my advantage."

Stevenson, a two-year starter at cornerback for the University of Miami, has opened eyes at the Senior Bowl this week. He's 6-foot, 204 pounds, and he's been in receivers' hip pockets.

"Long corner with man coverage ability," Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy said. "He's shown that he can play the football. I think his biggest thing, it's not speed, I think I think the league knows he can run, it's just going to be consistency, you know, with his eyes and his technique."

Stevenson starred at Miami Southridge High School. He projects as a third- or fourth-round pick and probably fits with an NFL team that uses press coverage. How about the Dolphins?

"I'm a Miami boy," Stevenson said with a smile.

Nov 12, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Hurricanes cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (2) intercepts a pass against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Stevenson actually began his college career at Georgia but left after two years and four starts.

"I was kind of naive and kind of immature as a freshman. Going in felt like I deserved more than what coaches had given me," he said. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself success take time. And another part was just getting back home to help my family during COVID."

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Like many young corners, Stevenson models his game after Patrick Peterson.

"Just him being a big corner gave me a lot of confidence to actually go out and you know do the things that I'm doing today," Stevenson said.

But there's another cornerback in Miami who uses his hands and physical play to succeed — Xavien Howard.

"The hands. He knows when and how to use them, when to throw them," Stevenson said. "Oh, yeah, I've always watched Xavien. Just having been, you know, just being at the crib and him just setting an example of what a corner is. So you know, I've got to steal a couple of things here and there."

Scouts want to gauge Stevenson's fluidity and transitions. But one thing he can surely do is engage as a tackler.

"I'm a linebacker at heart," he said. "Coming up out of high school I played linebacker at Southridge. Then I got to Georgia and ended up playing in the box as well. Tackling is just second nature to me. Besides running fast. You've got to run fast. That's first nature but I just I just love the tackling. And I just love to go up and hear the loud buzz and just watch the film and just see how it looked."

Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.