Double duty doesn’t apply to recent Naval Academy graduate Malcolm Perry. Perry is the first service academy graduate who won’t have to fulfill his military obligation and play football at the same time. “It allows me to defer my commitment until after football,” says Perry, who has a five-year commitment to the Marine Corps. “I feel extremely fortunate.”
Perry, no doubt, faces challenges to make the Miami Dolphins team. They picked him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, 246th overall. He’s moving from quarterback to wide receiver. This type of position switch was managed successfully by the New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman and former Pittsburgh Steeler and Washington Football Team player Antwaan Randle El.
The 5-foot-10-inch, 181-pound Perry has shown the speed of an elite player. He rushed for a Football Bowl Subdivision single-season record of 2,017 yards, while leading the Midshipmen to a school-record 11 victories and Liberty Bowl win over Kansas State. Perry also led college football in explosive runs (of 20 yards or more) with 26.
We recently talked to Perry, a native of Clarksville, Tennessee, about catching on with the Dolphins, changing positions, the pressure of the NFL, and coming down with a mild case of COVID-19.
How does the pressure of trying to make the Dolphins compare to Navy?
The NFL is a big stage and it’s a business. It’s not college anymore. It does put some added pressure on me, but at the end of the day its football. It may be more technical and the players are bigger and faster. It’s about taking your game to the next level.
Does having former Navy fullbacks coach Mike Judge on the staff make the transition easier? What do you talk about?
It’s so nice to have a familiar face when you are going so far away from home and to a place that you don’t know much about. He gave plenty of encouragement and advice. He knows the environment I came from and he knows what I dealt with there. He also made the same transition.
You were picked in the last round of the draft. How do you overcome the odds against making the team?
I have to work really, really hard. I can’t make the same mistakes twice. I just have to come out to practice and be the best I can be every day. If I do that, then I am okay with what happens.
How is the switch from quarterback to wide receiver going? What is the biggest challenge?
It’s going pretty well. I’ve got a lot to learn. I feel the coaching staff and my teammates are doing all they can to help me out. I am trying to pick up all the knowledge that they have, and learn as much as I can from them. The toughest thing now is studying the playbook, and knowing what you have to do on every play. That’s the first step for every rookie in the league.
What was your reaction to being drafted by the Dolphins?
I was on top of the world. It’s what you dream of as a child. It’s a beautiful state and a great organization. I was extremely excited. I was just ready to go to work.
Can you talk about what you did in the offseason with the Dolphins to prepare for the season?
We had Zoom meetings pretty much every day. We had meetings like if we were in the facility. It was tough, but possible to do. We had access to the playbook. We just weren’t able to get to get together and go over it.
What did you do on your own since there were no practices because of COVID-19, as far as weight-lifting, conditioning, and on-the-field work?
I got on the field by myself as much as I could. It was every day. I was back home in Tennessee. I was lucky enough to have a friend who played quarterback in college. We got on the field and would go over routes and plays. I was catching several hundred balls a day. I was lucky enough to have access to a gym. I was working out about two hours a day.
When did you come down with COVID-19? Was it a severe or mild case?
I am not sure of the timeline. I felt a cold. Nothing major. Nothing to cause an alarm. I talked to the training staff of the Dolphins and they said quarantine for over a week until I got tested. A cold came on and I felt a little fatigued. I went and got tested and by then I had got rid of it. By the time I got to Miami, I took a test, and they found I had the antibodies for it.
How did attending the Academy help you in life?
It makes you grow up fast in terms of taking responsibility and having structure in life. I took from the Academy prioritizing things, time management, and adding structure to it.
