Video sensations Grigsby, Mauia in spirited battle

[DolFan619]

Dolphins' dueling fullbacks have screen past

By Harvey Fialkov
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

August 7, 2008

DAVIE - Dolphins and YouTube fans became enamored with Reagan Mauia when he burst through a wall after a practice at the University of Hawaii and proclaimed himself to be the "Juggernaut."

When James Harvey Grigsby was born, his grandmother dubbed him "Boomer" and he has grown into the moniker ever since. He became a quasi-cult figure since being featured on HBO's Hard Knocks last year.

Boomer vs. Juggernaut. Sounds like the next superhero movie or Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

Instead, it's a couple of rugged converted defensive players immersed in a friendly, yet intense, battle for the starting fullback job.

"I have the utmost faith in Reagan's toughness, but I refuse to back down," said Grigsby, who at 5 feet 11, 250 pounds is an inch shorter and 10 pounds lighter than Mauia, a sixth-round pick last year.

"That fight would turn into some biting. We'd just get street and medieval, or it could come down to who hit first."

Although opening holes for running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams is the primary function for fullbacks in offensive coordinator Dan Henning's offense, the survivor will probably be determined by special-teams and pass-catching skills.

Grigsby made 49 special-teams tackles over the past three seasons in Kansas City, while Mauia was rarely used on those units.

"Boomer brings a little bit of a physical presence and I like what I've seen so far with him catching the ball," coach Tony Sparano said Wednesday, moments after ripping the receiving corps and backs for dropping passes. "I can't wait to see him on special teams Saturday."

Despite breaking his wrist in the preseason last year, Mauia's blocks helped pave the way for early-season running success by Brown and Jesse Chatman. However, he had just two catches for five yards in '07 and has been dropping balls throughout practice.

"I'm working on my technique, but I still have a habit of catching like there's a cast there," Mauia said. "After all year of doing that, it's kind of hard to break it. I'm still trying to fix it."

Mauia and Grigsby relish hitting anything that moves, but the softspoken Samoan took it too far last April when he was arrested for battery after allegedly punching a man in the face outside a bar in Weston. A hearing is slated for Sept. 18.

"You have to be tough," said Mauia, who seems embarrassed by his Juggernaut image. "It's a physical game. You don't want to separate yourself from the other guy, but in football you're a different breed."

Grigsby, Mauia and Sparano agree that the fullback's No. 1 responsibility is to be a "thumper," and lay out linebackers.

"Reagan's heavier and has got that big old head, so he brings more pop," middle linebacker Channing Crowder said. "Boomer's more athletic and more of a position blocker in the flat type. I don't like hitting either one of them."

Running backs coach James Saxon, a former fullback for Miami from 1992-94, recommended Grigsby to the current regime. He wants his fullbacks to have a "controlled rage."

"You're talking about two guys [linebacker and fullback] standing 10 yards apart that have to run full speed into each other 20 to 25 times a game," Saxon said. "It's not a fun job that everybody jumps in front of the line to sign up for."

Sparano said he rarely keeps two fullbacks, and prefers for one of his tight ends to fill in as an H-back (pseudo fullback).

"Obviously, I want to be the number-one guy and I strive to be the starter," Grigsby said. "If you take me out of these pads and sit me in a desk for 15 years, and then have me go out in the street and tackle someone, I'm pretty confident that I'll get him on the ground."

Boomer … Juggernaut. Let the rumble begin Saturday night.