Former Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage Chewed Out By Ryan Tannehill

Former Arizona State Sun Devils running back Kalen Ballage went through an embarrassing ordeal with his new quarterback, Miami Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill.

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins continued to get ready for their second preseason game with an afternoon practice at their training facility in Davie, FL. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a typical practice. Instead, Ryan Tannehill chose to embarrass rookie running back Kalen Ballage due to a missed blocking assignment, something that’s way out of character for the normally reserved Tannehill.

Per an ESPN report from Cameron Wolfe, Ballage’s mistake resulted in defensive end Charles Harris getting a clean shot on Tannehill. From there, Tannehill kicked the former Sun Devils’ star out of the huddle and “temporarily stopped practice to show his displeasure with Ballage”.

Kalen Ballage played four years at Arizona State, completing his career with 27 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, and one through the air. His most memorable moment came in 2016 when he tied an NCAA record with eight touchdowns in a 68-55 win over Texas Tech.

Although the report adds that Tannehill “continued to get his point across” to Ballage as practice wore on, the 6-foot-3 running back took things in stride.

Per Cameron Wolfe’s ESPN article:

"“Ballage didn’t take the chewing out personally and said he understands he still has things to learn about the Dolphins’ scheme.”"

Tannehill didn’t speak with reporters after practice.

In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins took Ballage in the fourth round at No. 131. He currently sits behind Kenyan Drake, Frank Gore, and Senorise Perry on the depth chart, per the Miami Herald.

With all that said, if Ballage makes the roster he won’t be returning to his old Arizona stomping grounds; the Dolphins are not scheduled to play the Arizona Cardinals this year.