Monday 24 July 2017 17:52, UK
He's the poster child for NFL in the UK. If you've read anything about Jay Ajayi, you'll have probably seen the phrase "British-born" thrown in front of his name at every opportunity.
And why not? He's proud of his London roots, and we should be proud he is one of the players flying the flag for Great Britain.
Born in Manor House, Ajayi moved to Essex before heading over to the States when he was seven. He ended up in Texas, and as a high-schooler at Frisco Liberty High School he was productive, but wasn't heavily recruited by college teams.
He decided to head to Boise State, of the Mountain West Conference. Years later, he's with the Miami Dolphins and is one of the young stars in the NFL.
In June, I had the chance to sit down with Ajayi and talk about his career so far and what the future holds. During our conversation, he told me of his favourite college memories. One of them was the first time he was at a game as a Bronco in the 2011 season opener.
"My first ever game. Not playing, but just walking out when I was a freshman," he said. "They played the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A kickoff classic and it was amazing - my first experience of college football. I wasn't playing, but it was mad."
In that game, he watched two future NFL backs in Georgia's Isaiah Crowell (now with Cleveland) and Ajayi's predecessor Doug Martin (currently in Tampa Bay) duke it out in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, and it was Boise who came out on top, 35-21.
He's played in the NFL for two years now, but when asked about fans of the college game, he was beaming. He clearly has fond memories.
Ajayi said: "College football is amazing. The fan base and the fanfare - it's ridiculous because everyone has gone to University, they are alumni and they support that one place. It can be over 100,000, it can be so many people. Sometimes college teams have more fans than NFL teams."
What you may not know about Ajayi is that he has a huge passion for the "other" football. He's an Arsenal man, and doesn't hide his love for the Gunners. I asked about the difference between the two sports.
"I've come to a few now. It's a different atmosphere," he said.
"I would say this. In the UK, football is mad because the game doesn't stop. It's got half-time and that's it, so there's always ongoing chanting. In the NFL and college football, it's start-stop, but it's still crazy. They show up and tailgate before the games so it's a big deal over there."
There's no surprise Ajayi raves about the college crowds. In the three years he played as a 19-21 year-old in front of the 36,000 crowd at Albertsons Stadium, he scored a whopping 55 touchdowns, including 32 in his final year before entering the NFL draft.
He left it all out on the field in his final game - his favourite playing memory.
"Winning the Fiesta Bowl," he said.
In their 38-30 victory over Arizona, Ajayi had 22 carries, 134 rushing yards and three touchdowns including a 56-yarder on the team's first drive. It was a fitting end to an extremely productive career.
At the end of the season, he was poised to be a high draft pick in 2015. The scouting reports would tell you he was a "three-down back", a "workhorse", someone able to "carry the full workload".
He had everything you'd want from a runner - great size, great feet and the ability to both make defenders miss and run them over.
But before the draft reports came out about a suspected degenerative condition in his knees, and his stock started to plummet. The first round would have been a surprise, but he didn't even hear his name called on day two.
It took until round five, at pick number 149 overall, for the Miami Dolphins to hand in the card with his name on. For Ajayi, this fall was just another part of his motivation.
"The fall in the draft helped my chip," he said. "I've always kind of had a chip [on my shoulder] my whole career just how it's gone, but the draft definitely helped build that chip a lot more and motivated me to work even harder and get where I need to go."
But a late-round tag alone is not enough to drive someone to the success he has had. He had the talent. He had the production. But ultimately in order to succeed in the NFL you need health and opportunities, and Ajayi didn't have them early in his career.
Adjusting to the NFL isn't easy, and Ajayi feels he's come a long way in these two years.
"The first year for me was interesting," he added. "I had to learn a lot about myself, about the NFL, what it was about, the ins and outs. I had some adversity and the team had some adversity.
"It was good this last season to have a little bit of adversity again, but to get through it early and be able to finish the year strong.
Miami started 1-4 in 2016, but ended up in the play-offs after going 9-2 the rest of the year, including a six-game winning streak.
"The team were able to do that together and it's definitely taught me a lot," he added. "I think I've learned a lot already in just two years of playing. This will be my third season, and I think I'm confident in my role now and I know a lot more than I did when I first got here."
He has certainly been through a lot in a short time. He was drafted behind Lamar Miller, who was then released in 2016. Though it looked like Ajayi was set to start, four-time Pro-Bowler Arian Foster was brought in to provide competition for him going into his second year.
Joe Philbin was in charge of the team when Ajayi was drafted, but only lasted four games after a 1-3 start. Interim coach Dan Campbell fared slightly better with a 5-7 record, but the team hired Adam Gase in January 2016 and a coaching overhaul ensued.
Two years. Two star backs ahead of him, three head coaches, two offensive coordinators and two running back coaches.
Through it all, Ajayi focused on his own game and developing a professional lifestyle, regardless of what was going on around him.
Ajayi said: "You learn. When you first get in you're still kind of young. I'm still fairly young, but when I first got into the league you're still doing some things you came out of college doing.
"As the season went on, my rookie year, you learn you need to be a bit more professional, take care of your body, focus more on doing certain things to make sure that you can play at peak performance.
"Now, being in my third year, I've learned so much from last year. Just the adversity, the challenges, the ups and downs. Now I really know what to do each day going to work. I know the football I need to play to be productive."
He talks about being "fairly young" as if he's a seasoned veteran, but Ajayi just turned 24 this June.
There's a lot more to come, but he already showed a level of maturity when his 2016 didn't start perfectly - Ajayi didn't make the trip to Seattle with the team in week one.
Just like when discussing the draft day chip on his shoulder, it seems clear Ajayi doesn't see any one particular moment as a turning point for him. It was just another one of the hurdles he's had to overcome in his career.
"Basically I wasn't there for the first game, and then after that…" He hesitates. "It was a challenge at the beginning. It was what it was."
It was what it was. Another piece of adversity to overcome.
The remainder of 2016 "was what it was" too - a culmination of health, opportunity and the play of his team-mates - something Ajayi is always sure to come back to.
"Being able to have a healthy line is amazing," Ajayi said. "When you have guys that are healthy, and it's the same guys and they are playing together and they can figure out how they play together, it's much better than when you have injuries and rotating. You want cohesiveness up front."
He achieved some astonishing individual statistics - we all know about his multiple 200-yard games, which shot him to stardom. He's one of only four players in NFL history to rush for back-to-back 200-yard games, and one of four to hit the 200-yard mark three times in a season. Only Ajayi, O.J. Simpson and Earl Campbell have achieved both.
But while he reflects fondly on those games, the team making the play-offs is his favourite moment as a pro.
He said: "The 200-yard games and making the play-offs. Clinching the play-offs - the Bills game, our late game in the season. To play the Bills - that game was my favourite game, when we were able to win in overtime."
That was the third of his 200-yard games on the season, and the one which put him in elite company.
But Ajayi's focus is on bringing championships to Miami. He's excited to get back to work, and that includes a trip back home to London. The Dolphins will bring their fair share of stars across the border, and I asked about the development of another young talent, DeVante Parker. He had rave reviews.
Ajayi said: "He's been looking great. This is gonna be it. He's gonna be special. He's a great player, it's ridiculous."
On defence, he singled out the return of Reshad Jones as a key element to success in 2017.
"It's been good to get Reshad Jones back out there as our safety because he was hurt a lot last year so it's been good to get him back."
Jones, who in 2015 was the first safety in NFL history to record 125 tackles, 10 pass deflections, five interceptions, two sacks and two defensive touchdowns in a season, tore his rotator cuff in week six of last year. His return will feel like a new signing for the team.
In my time with the Ajayi, it's clear he has his mind on team success. He's quick to point out his success was due to those around him, and has the fire in his belly to achieve even more.
Last year, the Dolphins made the play-offs for the first time since 2008, but it wasn't enough. Led by Ajayi, a young man fuelled by tough times in his career, Miami look like a team poised to make noise in 2017.
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The regular season of home and away matches run from September to December 2017, culminating in PlayOffs from January 6, 2018 and the Super Bowl on February 4, 2018 at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota to determine the world champion.
