Back when Karl Dorrell was the receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins and not the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, part of his job was to evaluate college wide receivers.
This year, before leaving the Dolphins, Dorrell evaluated 40 receivers.
“Laviska was one of them, obviously,” Dorrell said.
The Dolphins are expected to take a receiver early in April’s draft with one of their 14 picks. Former CU receiver Laviska Shenault could have been one of Miami’s targets.
“He’s a very talented kid and I had a lot of questions for him because his production wasn’t as high this year as it was the previous year and I know he’s had some injuries in his career,” Dorrell said.
In another universe Dorrell could be coaching up Shenault this fall, instead of coaching Shenault’s former teammates. Although he won’t be spending much time with the wide receiver this fall, Dorrell has met Shenault.
“He’s been on campus and I know he just went through a surgery after the combine,” Dorrell said. “It was good to meet him finally and get a few minutes to talk to him.”
Dorrell came away with strong feelings about Shenault.
“I know his head’s in the right place right now in terms of his next step and what he wants to accomplish in the NFL,” Dorrell said. “He knows he’s not a finished product, too. He knows that [the surgery] is going to set him back and there’s going to be question marks because of this injury that he just had, but he has enough on tape to prove to people that he’s definitely an NFL quality player and he can help somebody put some points on the board.”
Dorrell sees Shenault’s current circumstances as a turning point in the receiver’s career. He has a reputation for being sidelined often by injuries and he has the opportunity to change the narrative with his play.
“Are you going to prepare yourself both mentally and physically in doing the necessary things for you to have the success that you garner for yourself?” Dorrell asked. “It’s really just him putting himself in a mindset of looking forward and with that the impression and understanding that he’s not a finished product and he knows he has so much to learn.
“A lot of these rookies are that way. They’re not coming into the NFL just polished and ready to go, and as long as they understand that they have a lot to learn as they play, they usually make the adjustment pretty quick.”
That’s exactly what Dorrell told Shenault when they met.
“My advice for him was that everything about him and what he does is what he does from this point forward, it’s not anything that you’ve done in the past that you can’t really change, it’s really what you do as you look forward to this opportunity,” Dorrell said.
