Rookie Cam Smith explains what it was like to wear a Miami Dolphins jersey for the first time

The post-draft rookie minicamp has begun and all eyes are on cornerback Cam Smith, a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins.

Smith, a 2022 Second-Team All-SEC selection as a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks, was chosen with Miami’s top pick — after the franchise not only sent a first-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Bradly Chubb but also forfeited a first-round pick for violating league policies “pertaining to the integrity of the game.”

That said, Friday marked the first day of the post-draft minicamp, and Smith shared some insight into what it’s been like since being selected with pick No. 51 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“The last week really has been hectic,” Smith said. “I got a little Airbnb down here before camp started, so I’ve been staying there. I left like two days after I got drafted.

“I was ready to go so I came down here and started working out with Gold Feet (Global) to make sure I stayed in shape, making sure I stayed good with everything else.”

Smith also described what it was like to suit up in aqua and orange for the first time.

“It felt kind of surreal,” he said. “I had to send my mother a little first-day-at-work picture. It was kind of surreal being in the moment, seeing myself for the first time with an NFL team logo on. It’s just kind of surreal.”

Most draft analysts had the Dolphins taking an offensive lineman or tight end in the second round. Instead, general manager Chris Grier chose to bolster an apparent strength after injuries decimated the secondary in 2022.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say it. I know it,” Smith said of playing with Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey. “I’ve come into the right position. Being under two All-Pro corners, dudes that are the highest paid at their position, dudes that have done stuff the right way.

“Just being underneath them and picking their brains every day is going to be big.”

The rookie minicamp will wrap up on May 14. Miami’s mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 6-8.

“I feel like this is really the only time I really do smile a lot is when I’m talking about football or when I’m on the football field and stuff like that,” Smith said, “Just being out there showing my personality, showing what I know, showing what I can do, and just kind of being me.”