Phinatics.com

Twan Russell is a linebacker and special teams standout for the Miami Dolphins. Twan played college football for the University of Miami and was picked up as a free agent to play for the NFL Miami Dolphins in 2000. In 2001, he was elected Special Teams Captain and won the Dolphins Man of the Year Award.

Phinatics.com gives Twan Russell a special "THANK YOU" for his participation.

phinatics.com: Twan, you had quite a few turns in your healing process until you ultimately ended up on injured reserve. Prior to going IR, you returned to the field after what some people, including yourself, considered a miraculous recovery from your knee injury. Please tell us what happened, and what role you believe God played in the healing of that injury.
Twan Russell: It was one of those situations where on film it didn't look like it was a big deal. I got hit in the back, my knees crossed, and I fell on the turf. It was a violent force, but on film it didn't look very serious until we got the MRIs and when they actually looked at it. It was trauma to the actual physical bone itself. The ligament damage and things like that weren't a concern. And, in just the healing process, I remember sitting here like "Lord what do you want me to do? I don't understand why this is happening, especially the fact that I am playing well, and especially the fact that I thought this was going to be a great year for me." But, most people know His plan is definitely not ours, and I remember saying, "Lord, if I can just play one more game", and sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for because I got exactly what I requested. That was the opportunity just to lay it on the line one more time for that year, and I got exactly what I wanted. Was I disappointed? Yes. Did I want to finish out the year? Of course. But, the body can only take so much abuse, but I'm fortunate I got one more game that year and in that game I made a significant impact. It's just one of those situations, that God is faithful, and no matter what the situation is, even if you don't get exactly what you want, I think that God does exactly what you need, or what His will is for you to be in your life.

phinatics.com: While we are on the subject of injury, is there any special reason you wear the extra neck padding i.e. previous injury?
Twan Russell: I don't know if I have a long neck or what, but I am more susceptible to pinched nerves and the thick neck pack prevents my neck from moving significantly, which allows me to play the game more comfortable.

phinatics.com: You've been a good athlete in South Florida since you were a kid, and everyone knows about the many temptations of the South Florida area. Who do you give credit to for starting you on the road less traveled, and what motivates you to stay the course?
Twan Russell: My road was a little rocky, but on any road you have detours, and I think that I even though I took a detour to find my salvation, the fact that I made it there, I think that is the important part. Early on in my life, I don't know that I was a model Christian. But, when it came to that point for me to make a decision to put my feet in the dirt, and decide that I'm going to stand on the right side of the fence and stand firmly in the word of Jesus Christ, I decided at that point I realized that it was my mom, all the stuff that she had invested in me that it came back at that point. You know they say that if you invest in children that eventually they'll get it; and I think that all the investments that my mom made in me early on in life, they paid off later in life. "Teach a child to to choose the right path, and when he is older he will remain upon it" (Proverbs 22:6). That's basically how it went for me . . . early on maybe I wasn't doing exactly what I needed to do, but the investment that my mom made in my life, the investment that my pastor made in my life, the investment that my church made in my life, later in my life I remembered. I did not forget. I never went far enough where I could not come back; and I think only because of them is the reason I am where I am right now, because they invested so much, eventually that was going to grow and manifest into something great which allowed me to become a Christian.

phinatics.com: What is the basic idea behind your Russell Life Skills and Reading Foundation?
Twan Russell: I have so many reasons why I do it, but the number one reason is that I used to be one of those children. I'm not talking troubled teen, not people that are robbing banks or running around doing these horrific things, but I used to be one of those kids that got into a little bit of trouble, that veer on and off the path. It was a single family home and I had five brothers. My mom was always working, she was taking us to practice, she was always hustling trying to make ends meet to provide for us, and some of the things got lost in the shuffle. When you don't have a duel family home, things are going to get lost, and some of the things got lost in our home as far as homework and as far as constant supervision. It's unfortunate, but sometimes we had to supervise ourselves, and it was just because of the situation, not necessarily because of the love, and I figured there was a lot of kids just like me, so when I did my research it came out. I found out where the needs are, and that's what I did, I followed the need. I realized that a lot of the same issues I had growing up they had, so that's one of the major reasons I did it, because I used to be one of the kids that I am serving now.

phinatics.com: How can Dolphins fans help out your Foundation i.e. books (what kind), donations, mentoring?
Twan Russell: There are a lot of ways Dolphins fans can help out. I think the number one, and people hate to talk about it, but the number one thing for anything to be successful is financial backing, and 100% of the proceeds go towards the Foundation. And, that's for the children, that's for the supplies, that's for certified teachers, and it takes money in order to make a change. Originally, when I first started this Foundation, 100 percent of the monies came out of my pocket, but now we have 150 kids, we have 14 teachers, we have 2 full-time staff members, so there is no way physically possible that I could sustain this Foundation by just paying the bills. Now we have supporters who pledge, whether it be $1000 a month, whether it be $2000 a month, but we have people who have pledged every month to make an investment into these children's lives. What we ask people to do is to pledge something. If it's a financial pledge, if it's $10 a month, if it's $5 a month, make a pledge to our Foundation. If it's a time pledge, you know we have events . . . we have a golf tournament coming up, a pool tournament, an art auction coming up at the end of the year. We have a lot of things for people to volunteer, and to help us meet our goals. If someone wants to volunteer and get involved with the children in the process, we like people who are certified teachers, or people who have a strong educational background because I am very stern about our curriculum. I have very strict criteria in how we implement our curriculum, and in order to do that, we need certified teachers, and we need people who are certified in that area so we can see what the child's needs are. Do they have a learning disability? Do they need phonics work? Do they need spelling work? Do they need work with word recognition? So, we have to have people who are certified, people who have done it before in order to see those problems.

phinatics.com: Do you need books, and if yes, what kind of books do you need?
Twan Russell: We accept all books. We prefer new books, but if someone has books that are in very good condition . . . you don't want to give a child a beat up and battered book because it is hard to encourage them to read it, but if you can get a child a new book, or a book that looks pretty new, children are excited about it. You'll be surprised at how many children have never received books. So, it's great if we can get books that are from kindergarten to fifth grade because that is the focus of the kids in our program. We have some middle and high school, but for most of our kids we emphasize books from kindergarten to fifth grade.

phinatics.com: Your Foundation is selling some great Dolphins items under the seller name "russellfoundation" on ebay.com, which is another way Dolphins fans can contribute to help your Foundation. What kind of things can Dolfans expect to see on your auctions throughout the year?
Twan Russell: We have a lot of things coming up. Right now we are in the process of trying to acquire some University of Miami items. We are trying to get those items that are really tough for people to get. Signed shoes -- you just don't get signed shoes from a player, you kind of have to know somebody, so that has been our little niche. Brock Marion, Sam Madison, Jay Fiedler, those guys have made commitments to pledge, whether it be five pairs of shoes a year, to our organization. There's a lot of gloves . . . I have even talked to people about getting mouth pieces (laughs). I mean, it's like the things people will never be able to get. Our niche is getting little details of the game the average consumer would never be able to get unless they knew someone from playing football.

phinatics.com: Are most players pretty nice about agreeing to do it when you ask, or do some say no way?
Twan Russell: (laughs) It's kind of a catch 22, some guys say yes and some guys say no. The problem is that some guys have their own charities or foundations, so they save their items for their individual charities or organizations. Some guys take their stuff and do other things with them. But, you know I am very appreciative of everything we get. Most guys do help us. Pretty much, if you see a guys stuff out there on our auctions, then that's who has helped us. But not everyone can help all the time, and I understand that. But, very few guys have told me no, some guys can't do it all the time, some guys can more than others. Most guys on the team help one way or another. If it's not memorabilia, or items, or anything like that, then they help with their time by volunteering at one of our clinics or something like that.

phinatics.com: What about the Miami Dolphins organization; do they give you anything?
Twan Russell: Actually the Dolphins did. In 2001, they gave us $10,000. They didn't do anything in 2002 -- I'm working on them, and for 2003 I am working on them as well. But, they do help us. They help us with getting stuff signed . . . they help us in so many different ways, they help us with contacts and things like that. They do make a serious impact on why we can do what we do. They put us in situations to be successful.

phinatics.com: Your Foundation hosted a golf tournament this off-season and former Miami Dolphin Joe Rose was your partner in putting together the event. How did Joe get involved, and how was the tournament?
Twan Russell: It was really cool how Joe got involved. Joe actually came to me. We only had two full-time staff members and had been kind of reluctant about doing big time events. Joe came to me last year and said, "Twan, have you ever thought about doing a golf tournament?" I said, "Yes, but I have always had a fear that it would not be successful." Joe said, "Twan, people love you, and it will be very successful, and I will put my name behind it, and I will do it with you." And when he said that, I said, "OK, let's do it", and he was a very integral part of why we were successful last year. I think last year we raised like $27,000, and probably $10,000 of that was because of Joe. I mean $10,000 of it he literally sold himself, and he pubbed it on the radio. He was unbelievable . . . from A to Z he helped out.

phinatics.com: Do you plan to have another golf tournament this off-season and how can Dolfans get information on it?
Twan Russell: Yes, the tournament will be in March. We have a mailing list. If someone goes on the Foundation's web site and types in their e-mail address or address, we can send them a packet once we finalize our brochure, which will be on the internet site as well, so they can print it off, or they can call the office and the number is 954-921-3787. (Editors note: Or they can look on the "Autographs Shows" page on phinatics.com)

phinatics.com: Let's talk some Dolphins football! What do you think the future holds for the team next year after such a disappointing ending to this season?
Twan Russell: I think it was definitely a negative that we finished the way we did, but you know what, sometimes you need things like that to happen for an organization to grow, and I think next year the Dolphins fans should expect the best. I mean, guys are so determined now, we already have guys in the weight room preparing for next year. The determination level has gone up so much. And, if you look at the history of football, usually when people predict a team to go to the Super Bowl, they usually don't, it's the year after. I have no idea why that is, and that's what a lot of guys are thinking. Now we understand that every game we have to show up. We can't just go on the field and expect to win because we are the Dolphins. Did guys play hard? Yes. Did guys play smart? Yes. But now we have to player harder, and we have to play smarter. We have a motto on our team, "In order to do something you've never done, you have to do something you've never done."

phinatics.com: How excited were you in 2000 when the Dolphins called you about playing in your hometown area?
Twan Russell: It was funny. I remember when I got released from Washington . . . actually Norv called me and he says, "Twan, we are not going to sign you back, but you'll be alright -- someone will pick you up." Immediately I called my agent and I told him I don't care what it takes, find a way to get me on the Dolphin football team. And, he calls me up and said they were interested. It took us about a month and half because they had to go through all their options, and I was a Dolphin and signed a one year deal and I was ecstatic. It worked out perfectly, and I signed a three year deal, and I have been here for three years now and next year will be four.

phinatics.com: Speaking of next season, there is some media talk about your situation, because of the injury, and there's been some talk about the Dolphins wanting to get different linebackers or some new linebackers. Are you concerned about that at all, and if so, what kind of things do you do to secure your spot to be able to stay in your hometown and stay with the Dolphins?
Twan Russell: The number one thing I have to do is get healthy. Before I can talk about anything else, it's just getting healthy. Now, as far as bringing in other linebackers or anything like that, they do that every year. They are going to do that regardless if I am healthy or not, regardless if I went to the Pro Bowl or not. They are always going to try and bring in the best talent that they have, and I think that's good. I am not fearful of competition. I've always been in a situation my entire career, is that in order for me to stay in the league is to compete, and I am not afraid of competition. And I'm not afraid of being in situations that don't look favorable, because at the end of the day they are going to look at talent, and if I deserve to be there talent-wise, I will be there, and if I don't, I won't. So, I don't get caught up in who they bring in, or what the media says. The media has to sell newspapers and get people to look at the television, and the Dolphins have to bring people in to make sure they have the best talent on the field and that's all I worry about.

phinatics.com: Who was your favorite Dolphin player when you were growing up and why?
Twan Russell: John Offerdahl. He did so much more with less. If you look at him on paper, people wouldn't say that he was the most athletic, but you knew that he was the hardest worker, and probably one of the smartest Dolphins on the team when he was playing.

phinatics.com: What opposing kick returner in the AFC East do you think is the most dangerous on the field?
Twan Russell: That's a good question. You know there are so many, especially this year it seemed like every week we were going against somebody that was just, as we would say, was a freak of nature --- stop on a dime, and can move in any direction at any given second. Probably AFC East, Moss was nice, he was nice. Chad Morton was consistent the whole year, teams would not kick to him in fear he would take it to the house. I think those two, and they just happen to be on the same team. I think both those guys are great players.

phinatics.com: As a University of Miami guy, were you disappointed to see Santana Moss end up with the Jets?
Twan Russell: (laughing) No, everybody needs a job. I guess there are two reasons why I wouldn't want him to go to the Jets. One, because I didn't want to play against him, and two, being a Miami Dolphin, it is tough for me to have affection for the New York Jets.

phinatics.com: A lot has been made in the media of Coach Wannstedt's firing of former Dolphins Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff and how it adds a new element to the annual Dolphins vs. Jets games. Do you think there is added pressure for the Special Teams units to perform in those two games or is the talk much ado about nothing?
Twan Russell: You have to look at it this way -- for a lot of guys on the Dolphins team, Mike either helped bring them in, or he went after them. So, it's kind of like one of the reasons I am a Dolphin is because of Mike. Have you ever had two friends fighting or competing against one other? They both want to do well, and I think it is one of those situations. I think Mike has a great respect and affection for the Miami Dolphins organization, and we have a great respect and affection for him. So, no one at the end of the day wants to say the other person won. It's great to play against him because Mike knows who we are, and we know who Mike is. Each year it's kind of weird how we know both teams so well. We always have to come up with something new, so the game plan is pretty creative.

phinatics.com: How do you get yourself focused when going from helping kids one day to going to war on the football field the next?
Twan Russell: It's just like anything else. How does a CEO, being a cutthroat job, where he has to hire and fire people all day and go home and love his wife and kids, it's the same situation. When I leave work, I try to leave as much of it as possible at work. When I am at home, I try to separate the two where I'm not bringing my aggression and my competition home. At home I want to be a loving father and loving husband. I think it is very easy to separate the two, you just have to make a conscious decision that your not going to co-mingle them.

phinatics.com: Chris Chambers got knocked out by a helmet to helmet hit in this year's Denver game. A few weeks later a penalty, that many people thought was a ridiculous, was given to Zach Thomas in the Chargers game for roughing the passer. A week later Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp put a Green Bay Packer player in the hospital for what a lot of people believe was a cheap shot even though it was not an illegal hit. What is your opinion on the recent attention given to defensive hits and is it going to change the game dramatically?
Twan Russell: I'm glad you asked that question because I have some serious concerns with that because the NFL is such an offensive minded game that they do so much to protect offensive players but there is nothing done to protect the defenseless defensive player. I guess people's perception, because you see a wide receiver catching a pass across the middle and a strong safety comes in and makes the big hit, that they are intentionally trying to put their helmet on that player's helmet. But, in actuality, it's so hard to make a tackle in the NFL. It's even harder to dictate where your shoulder pads and helmet are going to go. It's virtually impossible when two people are running at full speed at one another, and your number one objective is to get this person down, and now you have to worry about putting your helmet in a different situation. The best way to get someone on the ground is to run through the middle of them, and then wherever your helmet lands, it lands. If you start putting your helmet on the side or lower you are going to miss tackles, and if you miss tackles you are not going to be part of the NFL. But there are a lot of situations, intentional situations, where you will have a defensive player maybe chasing a ball, who is behind the ball carrier, and an offensive player will blindside him and knock the crap out of him, and there is nothing said and no one ever cares because it's a defensive player. That's an intentional hit, whereas from a defensive standpoint his job is to get that player down.

phinatics.com: With that being said, did you think the Chris Chambers hit was just an accident?
Twan Russell: Well, I look at it two different ways. Say for instance it was Sam Madison hitting another player; I would be able to see it through Sam Madison's eyes. But, because it was against Chris Chambers, I'm biased because that's my teammate, and I have a deep respect and a friendship with him that I felt bad for him to receive that hit. I don't know if the guy intentionally head-hunted him. Do some guys do it? Yeah. But, I don't think there are enough guys in the NFL for them to, you know, I mean the fines now are getting so ridiculous with the helmet-to-helmet hits.

phinatics.com: What is your top goal as a player?
Twan Russell: Every player's should be to win a Super Bowl, so my top goal is to win a Super Bowl and to go to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.

phinatics.com: Any particular reason you wear the No. 56?
Twan Russell: John Offerdahl.

phinatics.com: How do you rate the Dolphins defense against the rest of the NFL?
Twan Russell: I think we are probably one of the top five defenses in the NFL. From a physical and from a swarming standpoint I think we are one of the best.

phinatics.com: What is your favorite football or sports movie?
Twan Russell: Rudy almost made me cry (laughs).

phinatics.com: In 2001, you were elected as a Special Teams Captain and won the Dolphins Man of the Year Award, which shows you are a team leader. Did you say anything to try and encourage Ray Lucas after his dismal first start against Buffalo?
Twan Russell: Yeah, you walk to him in a situation like that and you just let the player know we still have your back. There is not a whole lot you can say to him, all you can do is encourage him. Walking up to him, whether it is after a series, or whether it's in the locker room, and putting your arm around him or tapping him on the rear-end and saying, "Hey, we still got your back; we still love you, keep doing your thing." I think that is one of the reasons he came out of it in the third game.

phinatics.com: The Dolphins added Ricky Williams this off-season and you had to practice against him. When comparing him to other running backs you've played or practiced against, what did you think?
Twan Russell: That he's physical in practice as well as he's physical in the game. I mean, he's just a freak of nature. He's just one of those phenomenons that you don't see everyday. At the end of the day, I bet you people look back at Ricky and say how he revolutionized the running back position.

phinatics.com: Did you see that early on, like the first few practices?
Twan Russell: Yeah, because we are in shorts and he's trying to run through us like we had pads on . . . it was kind of making me upset (laughs).

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