DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - Trenton Irwin might be a Miami Dolphins rookie, but he’s no stranger to the limelight.
There’s a reason why the undrafted free agent receiver is a natural in front of the camera: As a child, playing football and reading a script went hand in hand.
These days, however, his auditions take place on the field, not at a casting agent’s office.
7Sports caught up with Irwin after a recent OTA practice.
“I’m just trying to be better, trying to be better than I was yesterday,” he said. “There’s a lot to improve. For me, that’s the thing I need to improve, it’s just being able to put the feet in the right place.”
The former Stanford receiver said he hopes this audition will lead to a role on the Dolphins’ active roster.
Irwin was second for the Stanford Cardinal last season in receiving yards. He finished his college career making at least one catch in 40 consecutive games.
His current coaches said he runs excellent routes, has great hands and is gritty and tough on the gridiron. In other words, he’s a Fins type of guy.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity. It’s a great program here, great coaches,” said Irwin. “It’s been a good little welcoming, trying to get used to the playbook, trying to get used to everything. It’s an opportunity, but with opportunity you have to deliver.”
But Irwin is used to delivering under pressure. From ages 8 to 14, he was a child actor who appeared in numerous TV commercials and a miniseries on Bravo opposite his father, also a commercial actor.
“I think I took a liking to it watching my father. It wasn’t something I really pursued. It was something that was an opportunity,” he said. “I got a little spare cash from that. As a high-schooler, [I could say], ‘Yo, I got 10 grand in the bank. That’s dope,’ but I mean, it was really a way of helping the family.”
The one commercial that got Irwin national attention was for Velveeta cheese.
7Sports hoped to rekindle the player’s memory with a block of the processed cheese. He remembered his line from the ad.
“We had a little bowl here. I was sitting here, and we had the whole table. I took a bite, I went, ‘Man, that’s good!'” he said.
As for what he expects will happen once Irwin’s teammates find out about his past acting days, Irwin has an idea.
“Oh, man. I’m gonna hear a lot of ‘Hollywood’ or a lot of ‘Sunshine’ or some sort of nickname like that,” he said.
Irwin gave up doing commercials while he was in high school. After missing a practice to shoot a TV ad, his coach benched him for the first quarter of the next game.
For now, Irwin is hard at work studying his current script: the Dolphins playbook.
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