Leaning on experience from his rookie NFL season, Anchorage’s Brandon Pili aims to maximize opportunities in second year with Dolphins

As an undrafted rookie out of USC last year, Brandon Pili’s standout performances during exhibition contests in August played a major role in him making the Miami Dolphins’ final 53-man roster.

With the team’s preseason opener set for Friday, the defensive tackle from Anchorage is looking forward to making a strong impression on coaches and executives again heading into his second season in the NFL.

“I can’t wait,” Pili said. “Preseason last year was really good for me but it’s a new season and as they say over here ‘It doesn’t really matter what you did last year, it’s what you do now.’ So I’m looking forward to and really excited for the opportunity to get to play again.”

Heading into his second season, he knows he has to maintain that hungry mind-set. Being a former undrafted free agent rarely ever comes with the same job security as a highly drafted player, so every year, the grind to move off the roster bubble begins anew.

“I feel like I just kind of tweaked and adjusted to some things that I learned my rookie year but the mind-set is still the same,” Pili said. “Being an underdog from Alaska where people usually don’t make it out.”

Pilis said the biggest adjustment he had to make going from college to the pros and now heading into Year 2 has been paying more attention to detail and refining both his technique and overall approach to what it takes to be a professional athlete.

“There are a lot of things from high school ball to college ball that you have to pick up on and adjust to and it’s the same from college to the NFL,” Pili said. “Everything just gets a little more technical and every little half a second counts. Every step counts so you have to be more on top of your stuff.”

The Dolphins have a “whole new defensive line group” following the loss of one of their most prominent leaders, Christian Wilkins, in free agency. Now Pili is learning from seasoned veterans such as future Hall of Fame defensive end Calais Campbell who came into the league in 2008 and is entering his 17th season.

“It’s cool having him around,” Pili said. “He’s got a lot of ball knowledge and things we can kind of pick up from.”

Miami also brought in a new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver, who came over from the Baltimore Ravens, where he served as a defensive coach and assistant head coach.

“It’s been a process just learning a new defense and everything but I think coach Weaver is a really good dude, and I like his defensive philosophy and I like him as a person,” Pili said.

The Dolphins didn’t rotate their interior defensive linemen much last year with both Wilkins and fellow veteran stalwart Zach Seiler having played 78 percent or more of the team’s total defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.

With Weaver calling the shots, that will no longer be the case. In 2023, the Ravens rotated their defensive lineman so often that the highest percentage of total snaps for any player was second-time All Pro and Pro Bowler Justin Madubuike at 65 percent. Madubuike still managed to lead all interior defensive linemen in the league with a career-high 13 sacks.

“It’s been really fun getting to know coach Weaver and playing in his defense,” Pili said.

Most memorable moments from rookie season

Aside from making the final roster, Pili’s first year in the league was filled with fond memories that he’ll cherish forever.

At the top of his list was taking his first snap in a regular-season game that came in the season-opener on the road in a place he is very familiar with. The Dolphins played the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium, which is less than half an hour from where he played his college home games at the University of Southern California for the Trojans.

”That was pretty cool and a big moment,” Pili said.

What made his NFL debut even more special was the fact that several members of his family were in attendance, including his mom and multiple siblings.

“It was nice and it was surreal just having my mom there,” Pili said. “I met up with them after the game and they were just excited and proud.”

The Dolphins were the team featured on last year’s in-season version of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” which was a “pretty cool experience” for Pili in his first year in the league.

“Obviously being a rookie and not getting too much playing time, I didn’t get a lot of camera time but it was pretty cool just to see how we go about our daily stuff as professional athletes being out there so my family got to watch and see a little bit of what I go through on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

While Pili wasn’t heavily featured in the docuseries, he could be seen sitting front and center for every team meeting when head coach Mike McDaniel addressed everyone.

“As a rookie, you got to give the looks, you gotta put your head down and learn and do what they ask you to do so I didn’t mind it,” he said. “I know everybody has got to put in their time and pay their dues.”

At the onset of training camp last month, he was present when Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got signed to the biggest contract in franchise history and ever given to a Polynesian player, which meant a lot to him as a fellow member of the Pacific Islander community.

“It was huge,” Pili said. “His family was over here at the facilities when it happened, and I’ve been to his house a few times and hung out with him a little bit, so it was really cool to see that.”

‘A family guy through and through’

Pili is not the only member of his family that has gone pro in the last year. His younger sister Alissa was selected No. 8 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx in April. While he wasn’t able to share that moment with her in person due to his professional obligations, he was extremely elated for her all the same.

“That was a big moment for her, and I was really excited for her,” Pili said. “Being a top-10 pick is crazy. The type of media coverage she is getting now, a bunch of fans and everything.”

[From Lynx to Lynx: Alissa Pili’s basketball journey comes full circle in a place that ‘was meant to be’]

He has been able to catch a few of her games in person since she was drafted. She only saw the court for a handful of minutes, but Brandon can relate to sitting behind a group of established veterans.

“My rookie year, there were a lot of good veterans ahead of me, and it’s just good to learn from them and take it all in,” Pili said.

His advice to her heading into her rookie season was “there’s going to be some ups and downs but just stay the course and you’ll be alright.”

Pili was able to spend some time back home in Alaska and see family this summer during the offseason, which was vital to his overall well-being.

“It’s important to have balance in everything you do,” he said. “Being away from them for so long and putting in the hours of work, it’s good to go see family and take time off. Family is a huge part of my life. I’m a family guy through and through.”

He is the oldest of eight siblings and it was “super important” to get to see them. A contingent might be coming down to the Sunshine State to watch him get extended playing time in one of the Dolphins two home preseason games.

Miami will open the preseason Friday at Hard Rock Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons at 3 p.m. AKDT.

Checking in on other Alaskans around the league

Pili isn’t the only player who was hails from the Last Frontier in the NFL. Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu of Palmer, Buffalo Bills linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio of Anchorage and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson of Anchorage are also in training camps.

“I think it’s really cool because you don’t see (it often) and a lot of people that I’ve met don’t expect there to be football in Alaska,” Pili said. “Just seeing other people from there being a role model to the kids in Alaska and giving them hope to one day try anything.”

Aumavae-Laulu was a sixth-round pick out of the University of Oregon last year and is currently competing for one of the three vacancies on the Ravens starting offensive line. Ulofoshio is a rookie who was drafted in the fifth-round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of the University of Washington and is competing to be a primary backup and key special teams contributor. Wilson became the highest drafted Alaska-born player in the history of the NFL draft after being taken seventh overall in the first round last year and will be a key piece in what is projected to be one of the better defensive lines in the league in 2024.

Pili’s advice to the next generation of young Alaskans who want to follow in the footsteps of those players and make it to the highest level of any professional sport is to have the utmost belief in themselves.

“Belief in yourself is big,” he said. “Just believe in yourself. You’ve got to work real hard and just try to create relationships that will help you get into the right field of what you’re trying to pursue.”