Hero today.... could be gone tommorrow.

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/06/06/a1c_camarillo_0607.html

WR Greg Camarillo saved Dolphins last year, hoping for roster spot this year

By CARLOS FRIAS
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, June 06, 2008

DAVIE — One play, one catch, and suddenly everyone in the football-loving world learned how to pronounce "Camarillo."

Not a Dolphins fan? Pretend the double-l is a y, and now you can say the name (Ca-muh-REE-yo) of the man who saved a franchise from the infamy of a winless season and made himself the answer to a potential Jeopardy! question:

In the category of "Rhymes with amarillo," here's the clue: With 8:26 remaining in overtime, this receiver caught a short pass and turned it into a 64-yard touchdown play that gave the Dolphins a 22-16 win, their only victory of the 2007 season, against the Baltimore Ravens.

Who is Greg Camarillo? The 26-year-old former walk-on punter has spent a lifetime answering that question.

And now, he has to do it all over again.

He came in under one-and-done head coach Cam Cameron, who coached Camarillo with the San Diego Chargers. Now, a player who has spent more time on practice squads than active rosters finds himself working for a new coach, Tony Sparano, a new GM, Jeff Ireland, and a new big boss, Bill Parcells, and trying to prove himself all over again.

Is that anyway to treat a legend?

"Everyone starts from zero ... " Camarillo said before the Dolphins' mini-camp this weekend. "They're putting me out there, though. They're giving me every opportunity I could ask for."

Camarillo has been through this before. He was a walk-on punter at Stanford for coach Tyrone Willingham. When Willingham left for Notre Dame, Camarillo had to make a believer of new coach Buddy Teevens, who was impressed by his player's work ethic and awarded him a scholarship.

Camarillo didn't make enough of a splash at Stanford to be drafted, but found his way to the Chargers and then his moment of fame with the Dolphins.

For his famous catch in the Dolphins' 14th game last year, he continues to get congratulations on the street.

"I still get a lot of love for that," Camarillo said. "I'm going to ride that wave until it crashes. It's slowing, but it hasn't crashed."

But it is approaching shore. Ted Ginn Jr., the Dolphins' No. 1 draft pick a year ago, and free-agent acquisition Ernest Wilford, who started 14 games for Jacksonville last year, have been working with the first team. And that's no surprise to Camarillo, who is battling Derek Hagan for playing time. Camarillo has been told to concentrate on his receiving skills, but knows he can be an asset on special teams, too.

"He's a guy that we have vision for," Sparano said.

Part of that vision includes his salary - $445,000 is great money for a kid happy to be in the league, but a bargain for an NFL veteran. Especially since Camarillo is the kind of player who has kamikaze intensity on special teams and provide reliability as an extra receiver.

"That's what you want as an athlete, a guy that will come in and work hard, day in and day out. A guy like that can do a lot for you," Wilford said.

Camarillo is hoping that his approach to the game and taste of success last year - his eight catches were the first of his NFL career - earned him a couple of extra reps in practice. But he also knows the reality of pro football.

"The possibility of being cut is always there," he said. "I always had to fight for a spot and that's kind of where I feel comfortable. If I knew that I was on a team or if I knew I was going to start, I wouldn't have the same motivation. I use the uncertainty of the future as motivation."

Some of his admirers use Camarillo's example to motivate others. Teevens has returned to coach Dartmouth and has shown his players a video of Camarillo's big play. Not everyone can be Randy Moss, Teevens tells his players, but on one play, with enough effort and heart, anyone can become a Greg Camarillo - a hero for a day.

"That next play could be game-changing or life-altering," Teevens said. "That next catch could be the big one."

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Tyree from the Giants is also in the same situation -- Hero of the year, possibly going to be cut.

[Sunstroke]

Tyree from the Giants is also in the same situation -- Hero of the year, possibly going to be cut.

Yeah, Tyree may get cut, but I'll bet they keep his helmet...

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Yeah, Tyree may get cut, but I'll bet they keep his helmet...

Tyree will never be inducted, but that helmet really deserves a display case in Canton.  Hurt me to say it.  But the helmet is part history and really deserves to be on display. If not at the HOF at least in a glass case in the meadowlands.  That was a catch that will be discussed for the ages. 

[Dphins4me]

  This is what happens when you have marginal talent.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

  This is what happens when you have marginal talent.

But the question is, can you make plays when it counts?  Tyree and Camarillo both answered that in their performance. 

Oronde Gadsden is another example.  He was considered a marginal talent when Jimmy Johnson signed him out of the Arena League in 1998.  For the next five years, all he did was make plays.

Tyree will never be inducted, but that helmet really deserves a display case in Canton.  Hurt me to say it.  But the helmet is part history and really deserves to be on display. If not at the HOF at least in a glass case in the meadowlands.  That was a catch that will be discussed for the ages. 

Let's also not forget he had a TD catch earlier in the game to lead up to that unforgettable grab.