Hinesville native Gary Guyton seems to be adjusting to the South Florida heat as he takes the field with the Miami Dolphins during the team’s organized team activity sessions.
Bidding for a starting linebacker job against Koa Misi, the former Bradwell Institute football player has been looking real good to Dolphins new head coach Joe Philbin, according to an article posted Thursday on thephininsider.com.
During an interview with reporter Kevin Nogle, Philbin said it’s still too early to know whether Guyton will be a starter, but he has watched him during training and is impressed.
“I like for it to be as challenging (as possible),” Philbin told Nogle. “There were no discussions about playing for depth with Gary Guyton. Every player we get, we want to provide an opportunity to reach their potential, whether that means the starter or the second string or third string. That remains to be seen. I like what I see so far. We have had a lot of quality work. We are tempering our evaluations to a certain degree until we get to the padded work. We like what we see so far.”
Phinphanatic.com blogger Tyler McMullen shared the coach’s sentiment. In a blog posted Tuesday afternoon, McMullen said Guyton can help the Dolphins defense in stuffing the run.
“(Misi) has the athletic ability to get things done from the Will spot, but if things don’t work out, Miami brought in someone who can get things done from that spot, Gary Guyton,” McMullen reported. “Guyton, a former New England Patriot, is a speedy and very rangy linebacker. Although Guyton doesn’t make flashy, All-Pro type plays, he is a solid fill-in linebacker if the Koa Misi experiment fails — or if Karlos Dansby or Kevin Burnett goes down with an injury.”
Guyton spent the last four years with the New England Patriots. He signed a one-year contract reportedly worth $750,000 with the Miami Dolphins on April 13.
Guyton and the Miami Dolphins are about to jump into the realm of reality TV as the squad was chosen for this season’s HBO series “HardKnocks.”
“HardKnocks” follows a team through training camp, with the 24-man production team being allowed access to the coaches and players in the dorms, locker room, practice field and elsewhere. The Dolphins’ season of “Hard Knocks” will debut Aug. 7, with a weekly episode every Tuesday after that through Sept. 4. The NFL regular season begins Sept. 5.
Guyton will return to Hinesville for his third annual Coastal Georgia Kids and Pros Sports Festival on June 24-25. The event originally was scheduled for May but was postponed due to a death in Guyton’s family.
 The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 24, with the Coastal Georgia leg of the Great Amazing Race for Youth. Inspired by the show “The Amazing Race,” teams of two will race against other teams around a 1-mile cross-country course that includes up to eight challenge stations comprised of games, relays, obstacles and other tasks.
On June 25, Guyton and his NFL friends will host football and cheerleading camps.
At 9 a.m., the kids in grades 1-6 will learn fundamentals of football. Simultaneously, there will also be a cheerleading clinic.
At 11 a.m., Guyton will lead kids in grades 7-12 in a position-specific skills clinic where they will learn techniques being used in the NFL.
For more information on the event, go to www.GaryGuyton.com. For those interested in becoming a vendor or sponsor, email Greg Benton at gbenton@flyingcolorssports.com or call 513-518-0528.