Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (8.4.25)
How big is this week for you guys, both the (joint) practice and the game to finally be able to see your group live?
“We were talking about that today with the specialists. It’ll be nice for us to be able to compete against a different team rather than just going against each other in practice. So, excited for the opportunity to go down there to Carolina and compete. Honestly, that’s been the theme of this whole camp, is compete.”
In the offseason, we talked about ramping up the intensity and the urgency, and then we see live tackling for the first time, I think, under Kevin (Stefanski). So, have you seen what you wanted to see in during the first week of camp?
“Yeah, and I think, coach (Kevin Stefanski) has delivered a clear and concise message to our team, that we need to play harder, we need to practice harder, we need to do things like we’re going to do in the game. I think that being able to go live and control that period on how we’re tackling, you know, you’re not seeing a lot of low tackles in that period. Obviously, we’re staying away from the quarterback, taking care of each other and still playing at a high speed and getting guys on the ground. So, it’s been good.”
How much easier has it been to work with the kick returns this year instead of last year, the first year (of the new kickoff) and it being new in terms of practicing it?
“Yeah, last year we were just trying to figure out the play, and I would say everybody in the league has a much better grasp on everything that that goes into that play. Obviously they made the adjustment to have the touch back to the 35, so that’s obviously going to impact the play and we’re going to see a lot more return balls.”
What’s your guy’s process for evaluating the kicker positions this year, especially with the poor performance last year?
“Yeah, I mean in any position, especially that position, you want consistency and consistency with the results. So I think that that’s going to be a big, big part of the evaluation here in the next few weeks.”
Do you guys have a consultant that you evaluate with or is it just in-house?
“No, it’s just, it’s just whoever’s here.”
Bubba (Ventrone), as a special teams coach, what’s it like in the first two preseason games like in terms of getting out there and putting guys in high-speed situations?
“Yeah, I mean a lot of the preseason is challenging, because there’s so many substitutions that occur. Some guys are playing offense and defense. They may play like 10 to 15 snaps. Then you’ve got to manage when that guy is going to be able to factor in for you. He may play only the first quarter on some units. So, there’s a lot of guys coming in and out. So, we always hit on that hard and harp on that to everyone be locked into what’s going on in the game, the situation in the game and then the players and the coaches need to have good communication with me and Kyle (Hoke) so we can always have the right guys on the field executing at the best of their ability.”
So, it sounds like Corey’s been booming punts throughout mini and training camp. What have you seen from him and what are you expecting for him this year?
“Yeah, he’s been really good. He’s been very consistent. His directional looks better than it has in the past, I would say. He’s obviously got a very explosive and powerful leg. I think for him, being able to match the hang times to the distances is important and eliminate the mis-hit balls and also the balls where we’re hitting it too far with not enough hang. So, I think that that’s been a focus for him that he’s done a really good job of in this early part of camp.”
Has it been a normal rep camp for Dustin so far? I don’t remember a lot of team kicking periods. I know I’ve seen him kick by himself, but has this been a normal camp for him?
“Yeah, I think so. We’ve probably done a little bit more team stuff. We’re going to hit another team field goal period today with both guys, but I kind of wanted to get him a little bit more involved in the team setting. So, I think that ultimately will help.”
Do you consider him as somebody in the competition right now?
“Everybody’s in competition. Everybody’s in competition. That’s why we have all these numbers at every single position. So, I mean, everybody says this, but competition ultimately brings out the best in everybody. It really does. When you’re being pushed, you’re probably going to perform at a better at a higher level.”
Bubba, how’s the punt return battle shaping up?
“Good. I would say we have more ball handlers this year than we’ve had in the last two years. We’ve got some young guys that we’re going to look at this upcoming week. Luke (Floriea) will get some time back there. Kaden Davis will get some time back there. I’m so excited about the group we’re working with.”
Is it basically between those two guys, since we see them returning punts all the time?
“Well, you’ve got DC (DeAndre Carter) too. I mean, DC is the main guy. So those young guys, we want to see what they can do, and they’re going to both play in the game and get reps.”
What stood out about him (DeAndre Carter) working with you guys?
“He’s got a good little skill set. He’s a little bit shorter than me, so I don’t know if that’s to his advantage, but he’s tough. Definitely got a really good short area quickness. He’s got a pretty good feel for the techniques that we’re trying to do. He’s a tough kid, so, excited to see him play in the practice today and then obviously in the game.”
In terms of kick returns, do you think we’ll see more of the bounce kicks this year in the landing area (because that’s when the point of engagement can begin) more?
“Unfortunately, yeah, I do. I wanted to push the ball being short of the landing zone to the 50 or the 45 and it’s going to stay at the 40 for now at least. I think that there’s a chance that the play could get messy. I’m hoping that’s not the case, but I think that if the touchback goes to the 35, we talked about this in the spring. If the touchback goes to the 35-yard line and the ball goes out of bounds, right? Then the ball goes to the 40. So, you’re only losing five yards there. So is it advantageous to put the ball on the ground and have potentially a better coverage play? Yeah, but it could go either way. I’m hoping that it doesn’t go that way.”
What have you seen out of Carson Schwesinger? It looked like you were watching that one drill last week kind of in front of the end zone, it looked like he had a couple really good reps. What’s been your overall opinion of him?
“He’s a super, super smart kid. I mean, when I evaluated him, I was like, the first thing that pops off the tape is that he’s so instinctive and he just finds his way and has a knack to get to the ball. Really good at shedding blocks. He reads it out fast. He triggers faster than most. Love the kid. He’s tough. He’s got good size and length, so that shows up a lot. He’s fast. I mean, he covers ground. Very, very into everything that we’re doing and open to do everything.”
What knee jerk reactions did you have (from the Hall of Fame game)? Were you able to get initial reaction takeaways were you able to get from the adjusted kickoff?
“Yeah, there wasn’t much, I would say relative to the play in general. There wasn’t a ton of difference from what we saw last year with the play. You’re always using those early games in camp to be able to show your players and use those as examples on good technique, bad technique. Okay, this is a good run. This is a good play. You saw the muffed punt by one of the returners, we obviously don’t want to do that, things like that, to be able to correct. So, I think there’s a lot of things you can take from, especially the early games in training camp where you have a lot of young players on the field.”
Was Anthony Kendall, a guy that you’d always kept an eye on as a potential like key special teams contributor?
“Yeah, he had a productive rookie season in Tennessee, obviously Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) was here last year, and Vrabes liked him enough to keep him on that roster. He got nicked up last year, so, he’s been a factor at the gunner position. He’s fast, he’s got some toughness. So, yeah, he was a guy that we looked at whenever he was coming out of college.”
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