Two of the of the three big offseason moves made by the Miami Dolphins - trading for wide receiver Brandon Marshall and signing linebacker Karlos Dansby - have garnered plenty of attention. But it’s the other move involving the free agent signing of guard Richie Incognito that might have the most intriguing back story.

There of course is Incognito’s already publicized reputation that has saddled the Arizona native with the label of nasty, out-of-control lineman. Tell that to Ben Bernard, his high school offensive line and strength coach, or Jim Ewen, his high school football coach, and they’ll fill you in on a whole different side to Incognito.

“Richie was a tough kid on the field and a great kid off the field, a great kid,” said Bernard, who still works out with Incognito in the offseason.

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“I was a pretty good baseball player and it came down to wanting to lift weights to get bigger for football or kind of lean up and play baseball,” Incognito said. “My choice was football back then in the 10th grade and I stuck with it ever since. There really is no better feeling than pancaking a guy. That’s what drew me to the sport because I love the physical nature of the game. I like to hit people.

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“He had a little question and answer thing with a lot of my kids and their parents in regards to college recruiting, in regards to being in the NFL, in regards to lifting in high school and all of those things that high school parents and college parents are curious about,” Bernard said. “Richie sat down or an hour-and-a-half and talked to everybody

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His philosophy on the differences between run blocking and pass blocking says the most about what type of player he is going to be under Sparano.

“They’re both equally as important,” said Incognito, who was a third-round draft choice of the St. Louis Rams in 2005 and spent the last three weeks of last season with the Buffalo Bills. “You’ve got to open up those holes for the running backs but you’ve got to keep your quarterback protected in this league. That’s the number one thing. If you’ve got a quarterback back there that’s getting hit all the time it makes his job very hard. … The guys who have success in this league are able to do the small details very well play in and play out, and that’s what makes a good offensive lineman, the details each and every play.”