MIAMI GARDENS — New Miami Dolphins linebacker Willie Gay Jr. starts training camp practices letting out a loud scream, like something you’d hear on a roller-coaster.

It’s something he has brought with him to Miami after he started doing it his second year in the NFL, 2021 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

He remembers the genesis of his patented yell vividly. The Chiefs had moved practice inside due to rain. He felt the team’s energy declining and decided to just shout his lungs out.

“Next thing I know, people just started buzzing about it,” said Gay, an undisputed training camp standout with the Dolphins these past two weeks. “But I never did it for (other) people. I do it to get my blood flowing a little bit. Everywhere I go now, it becomes big.”

Whether Gay does it for others or not, the energy he releases is going to permeate across the football team regardless.

“He’s magnetic,” coach Mike McDaniel said before Sunday’s practice. “You can feel his presence inside the building, and he was a fast friend for a lot of the guys in the locker room. But what has jumped off is his energy isn’t a one-off thing. He brings that every day.

“It’s a pillar of who he is as a person as we really get to know him.”

Gay’s passion for the game has certainly reemerged in Dolphins camp after he revealed recently he “clocked out” mentally last season around Week 11 as he wasn’t getting much playing time for a New Orleans Saints team whose season had gone to waste.

“I just love the game so much, love being on the field so much,” Gay said. “Like everyone says, energy is contagious. If you bring it, it’s going to always spread like a virus.”

Gay has consistently made big plays all over the field in training camp. The 6-foot-1, 246-pound athletic freak adds a versatile piece to defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s scheme. Gay can shed blocks and attack ball carriers in run defense. He has flashed pass-rush prowess on the blitz, and he has impressed in pass coverage. He can do it from inside or outside in the linebacker corps.

“Just let me run and hit,” Gay said. “Whatever they want me to do. Inside, I can go get the ball from that angle. We’re working on some things outside where I’m blitzing off the edge and getting to the quarterback. … Any position I’m put in, I’m going to try to make plays.”

Of all Gay has shown in camp, he’s most proud of his strides in pass coverage.

“I feel like I’m doing pretty good getting my hands on — batting balls down, even though a couple of them were dropped,” he said. “But it’s OK, because in the games, they’re going to be picks.”

Said McDaniel: “Any time there’s a tip or an overthrow, he’s a potential takeaway guy. He is around the ball and he is challenging both the people in his position group and the offense.”

But Gay has had multiple instances where a potential interception was dropped after he put himself in position to create the turnover.

He said wide receivers have given him a hard time over the drops.

“I’m closing so fast,” he began to explain. “I don’t think I can get there, so I get there and I panic. And I just throw a hand out there. Then, I realize, ‘I could’ve caught that.’ ”

Adding the coverage skills to his game, Gay can marry that with his natural ability to blitz due to his athleticism.

“Well-rounded,” he labeled himself. “Whatever they ask me to do, I try to do it to the best of my ability. Being able to blitz and drop in coverage and cover man-to-man, I feel like it’s my skill set.”

As much as Gay has stood out, he’s part of a tough defensive front seven to crack for playing time.

At inside linebacker, the Dolphins return Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson, while adding K.J. Britt along with Gay this offseason. On the edge, the trio of Chop Robinson, Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb must all get ample opportunities.

“I feel like we can be the best defense in the league, starting up front,” he said. “I feel like we could be the best linebacker room in the National Football League.”

And Gay may just be making a case where the Dolphins must find ways to get him on the field no matter who else is out there.

Originally Published: August 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM EDT