Root for Laremy Tunsil, who handled his draft-night tumble like a grown-up

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We are programmed to root for quarterbacks, receivers and running backs, the guys who score the points. Left tackles? When’s the last time someone rooted for one of those?

Editor’s PicksDolphins pick Ole Miss OT Laremy Tunsil in first round

The Dolphins surprisingly selected Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil with the No. 13 overall pick in the NFL draft.

Laremy Tunsil’s draft stock was dropping before his Twitter account was hacked

It’s just too convenient to blame a video on Twitter for Laremy Tunsil’s fall. There’s always more to the story.

Transcript of Laremy Tunsil’s news conference with Dolphins media

Laremy Tunsil talked with the Miami media after being selected No. 13 overall Thursday night.

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Michael Oher out of Ole Miss, maybe, because he had a made-for-Hollywood story that touched ’em all. But now here comes Laremy Tunsil out of the same school, ironically blasted from the blind side. What happened to him Thursday night shouldn’t happen to anyone, never mind a 21-year-old kid about to celebrate the night of his young life.

How would you feel if you were minutes away from delivering a valedictory speech at your college graduation before a prankster posted a video on some oversized screen showing you celebrating a night of underage drinking by running butt-naked around campus before urinating on the chancellor’s car?

That’s what happened to Tunsil at the NFL draft, times 50. Just as he was about to settle into the night, his night, someone used his Twitter account to share what appeared to be scenes borrowed from an old “Breaking Bad” shoot gone wrong. A young man in a black gas mask was shown enjoying an attached bong, and after the Miami Dolphins stepped in to cut off his plunge with pick No. 13, Tunsil admitted he was indeed the young man in question.

Tunsil maintained his account was hacked, and this was one time you could certainly take a sports star or celebrity at his or her word on that. He also swore his Instagram was hacked, another credible claim given that this account showed Tunsil’s apparent text messages to an Ole Miss football staffer asking for money to cover his rent and his mother’s electric bill.

At his news conference in Chicago, Tunsil was asked if he’d taken money from a coach. “I’d have to say yeah,” he answered.

Laremy Tunsil waited a long time in the green room before the Dolphins took him at No. 13. Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY …

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