MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyler “Snoop” Huntley’s new Miami Dolphins teammates and coaches had their eyes on him before he signed with the team.

Coach Mike McDaniel noticed how Huntley’s former Ravens teammates rallied behind him in 2022 when he guided Baltimore to the playoffs in place of Lamar Jackson.

Receiver Tyreek Hill was impressed with his running ability. Quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell noted Huntley’s underrated passing skills.

It all helped fuel the Dolphins’ decision to turn to Huntley as their starting quarterback Monday night against the Tennessee Titans.

“We’ve been really high on Snoop,” McDaniel said Saturday. “High enough to give it a place on the list at 53, which are few and far between, with unseen visibility. So his maturation has been accelerated by him and he has done an impressive job of assimilating into the dressing room and understanding our language as his own, and the team is excited for him.

Tua Tagovailoa remains on injured reserve with a concussion, and with backup Skylar Thompson treating a rib injury In Week 3 against Seattle, the Dolphins’ quarterback options were Huntley and Tim Boyle, both of whom have been in Miami for less than a month.

Huntley said he has spent a lot of time in the film room since then joining the Dolphins on September 17th I’m trying to learn McDaniel’s complicated playbook, including pre-snap moves and timing-based throws. Huntley compared the process to riding a bicycle.

“You’re a little doubtful the first time,” he said. ‘You didn’t know how to kick. Then you just start putting everything together, pedaling, going in a straight line, and after a while you stand up.

McDaniel said earlier this week that he wouldn’t necessarily create a series of new plays for Huntley, but would instead add elements within the existing system that suit his strengths.

“If you do that (create new plays), the only way you can do that is if there’s some overlap in what you’re already doing,” McDaniel said. “Just because you don’t go in and completely change everything you do, it has to be within your verbiage and ways that they’ve learned how to identify people, and who you read and all that. I think there is a balance.”

McDaniel also has experience with a quarterback joining a team and quickly moving into a starting role. He was with San Francisco in 2017 when Jimmy Garoppolo was traded there from New England midseason and immediately became the 49ers’ starter. The 49ers finished that season with five straight wins under Garopoplo after starting 0–9.

“You obviously think about, ‘Okay, how do you get that done?’” McDaniel said.

For him, the answer to that question lay in the way Garoppolo’s teammates responded to his leadership.

“There’s an unspoken, I don’t know, confidence and belief that a person has to have,” McDaniel said, “where guys believe that no matter how long they’ve played with him, they have the components to do what they want. they all need something from him, they really do.”

McDaniel sees the same components in Huntley.

“He replaced the league MVP and you could tell from afar that he was a guy that the team absolutely believed could lead them to victory,” the coach said last week.

Huntley has a 64.6% completion percentage and a 79% passer rating with eight passing touchdowns. He can extend the play with his legs, adding a new dimension to a Dolphins offense that has struggled through three games, scoring just 33 points.

Huntley has 509 career rushing yards with 4.4 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns.

His focus has been on being ready when his number is called. McDaniel said he felt more comfortable turning to Boyle when Thompson went down last week because Huntley hadn’t had enough time to get acquainted with the offense.

“You literally have to learn it, just like learning for the bar exam,” Huntley said with a smile. “I know some people have probably taken the bar exam, I haven’t. You have to go all in and just absorb everything that’s in the playbook.

Boyle will serve as Huntley’s backup on Monday and Thompson could be available as an emergency third quarterback.

The Titans are still looking for their first win, but have been stingy on defense, giving up just 139.3 yards per game. They’ve also been preparing to face Huntley long before McDaniel announced him as the starter on Saturday.

“We know we’ll most likely see Snoop at quarterback,” defensive end Jeffery Simmons said Wednesday. “That’s one of the things that we can definitely take notice of and pay attention to because if Snoop plays, then it’s probably going to be the exact same plays that we saw with Malik (Willis) with the quarterback runs and getting of the ball on the perimeter and edges.

NOTES: Titans playing coordinator/cornerbacks coach Chris Harris will miss Monday’s game. Secondary coach Steve Jackson will take over his duties.

___

AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

___

AP N.F.L.: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl