MIAMI -- The Miami Dolphins filled two glaring needs Sunday when they drafted Florida State running back Sammie Smith and Florida safety Louis Oliver in the first round of the NFL draft.
The Dolphins, using the ninth pick in the first round, tapped a running back in the first round for the first time since they chose Florida's Lorenzo Hampton in 1985. The Dolphins then engineered a trade that gave them a chance to draft Oliver.
They sent their second- and third-round picks to Chicago in exchange for the Bears' third first-round pick. Choosing in the 25th position, the Dolphins picked Oliver, who was generally considered to be the top safety in the draft prior to Sunday.
There were reports Oliver refused to take a drug test, but he said that was untrue.
Smith, 6-foot-2 and 224 pounds, has a bruiser's frame and sprinter's speed. He was timed at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash and also has been timed at 9.6 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Smith had one year of eligibility remaining, but opted to leave school.
'I am very excited about the opportunity to play for the best coach (Don Shula) that ever coached the game and behind one of the best quarterbacks (Dan Marino) in the NFL,' Smith said. 'I haven't had much contact with them, and I didn't even know that they were interested in me until the middle of last week.'
The big question about Smith heading into the draft was not about his ability but his health. The Zellwood, Fla., native missed two games with a sore shoulder last year, and carried the ball only 108 times.
But he gained 577 yards and scored four touchdowns in the regular season, and capped off his college career by gaining 115 yards on 24 carries against Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. In his career at FSU, Smith carried 411 times for 2,539 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
'We think he's tough enough,' Miami Player Personnel Director Chuck Connor said.
Miami's ground game has slowly declined in the past four seasons because of injuries and the lack of a star in the backfield. The Dolphins' running game was ranked 28th in the NFL last season, and Miami has not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Delvin Williams gained 1,278 yards in 1978.
Miami's passing attack, with quarterback Dan Marino and receivers Mark Duper, Mark Clayton and Ferrell Edmunds, was ranked No. 1 in the league.
'In Sammie, we get a real big guy who could go the distance,' Shula said. 'The way our run offense went the last few years, we really felt that we needed to juice it up a little and go with the big back. We needed to take some of the load off of Marino.'
Oliver also has outstanding physical credentials. He is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and runs a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
Oliver will be reunited with Miami safety Jarvis Williams, his teammate for three seasons with the Gators. Oliver fits the mold of the big safety that hits like a linebacker, as is the case with Cincinnati's David Fulcher and San Francisco's Ronnie Lott.
In recent testing, Oliver bench-pressed 390 pounds.
'Oliver was the guy that we really liked on defense,' Shula said. 'He'll play everydown. It could not work out better for us. We, he, and (owner) Joe Robbie are extremely happy.'
