MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold has the best nickname on the team. And he earned it the old-fashioned way — by knocking guys into the dirt.

“That’s why we call him ‘The Hit Man,’ ” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said.

Ingold, the physical, tough-as-nails, 28-year-old six-year veteran who was a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, is a big reason that the Dolphins run game took a nosedive midway through last season.

The Dolphins, who opened their three-day minicamp Tuesday, need Ingold to stay healthy this year for the sake of their running game, which ranked 21st in the league at 105.6 yards per game last season.

“What people don’t understand is, so Alec Ingold makes a block,” coach Mike McDaniel began. “Well, when he comes from the backfield and goes into the line of scrimmage and blocks whomever, half the team adjacent to him has better angles at their blocks.

“So a fullback allows you to every play, not only is he executing his block, but he’s made the angle better for the center on his target, which helps him execute his blocks.”

In other words, Ingold, who has 18 carries for 25 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons with the Dolphins, is essential for the run game’s success, possibly as essential as running back De’Von Achane or former running back Raheem Mostert (now with Las Vegas).

It was the low-profile Ingold who cleared the way for Mostert in his Pro Bowl season of 2023, when Mostert had a franchise-record 18 rushing touchdowns.

“Simply put, a fullback in the run game for offenses is the ultimate point guard for the offensive line, helping their angles and their leverage and their ability to block talented athletes,” McDaniel said.

Yes, part of the reason for the run game’s nosedive last season was due to the season-ending knee injury to right tackle Austin Jackson after the Buffalo game in early November.

But Ingold was injured in that same game. He missed the next two games, against the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas, before returning to face his hometown Green Bay Packers.

Including the Buffalo game, the Dolphins had a streak of five consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

After the Buffalo game the Dolphins had a streak of six consecutive games under 100 rushing yards. Their best showing in that stretch was 82 yards rushing against Las Vegas. Their six-game average was 59.4 yards per game.

Ingold’s physical presence and football intelligence were both definitely missed.

“I think ‘F’ fullback in this offense, you could call it problem-solver a little bit,” said Ingold, who battled calf and ankle injuries for the second half of the 2024 season. “Like being able to fix things on the fly, to keep things clean for the running backs, to direct their eyes, to give them some calming presence so they get one extra revolution on cuts to kind of help everything ease out from the front line to the backfield and the wideout.”

McDaniel spoke earlier Tuesday about the running game’s role in helping the Dolphins get more plays of 25 or more yards, a category in which they ranked near the bottom of the league in 2024 after ranking near the top of the league in 2022 and 2023.

McDaniel said teams will continue playing the Dolphins’ pass game the same way until the run game can force them to change their strategy.

Ingold, a physical presence in the offense, is a big part of that solution.

“The physicality at the point of attack,” McDaniel said, “the known match-ups going into a game where, hey, this dude is a physical thumper that compresses force. Alright well, ‘Hey Alec, we’re going to need a tone set at the beginning of the game.’ Those things, in football, that’s the end all.”

Ingold is perhaps the kindest, most giving guy on the team. 

His charity, the Ingold Family Foundation, seeks to “empower underserved youth” through sports. He’s highly intelligent. He’s always available for the media and gives honest, thoughtful, insightful answers.  

He’s genuinely a nice guy.

But don’t get in his path on a running play. He’ll clean your clock.

“He sets it off,” nose guard Benito Jones said. “If you really watch him when he’s got pads on and everything, he’ll come lay the wood.”

Originally Published: June 10, 2025 at 3:46 PM EDT