Special Teams Coordinator Byron Storer (9.10.26)
How did you see Corey (Bojorquez) respond to the push you gave him during the preseason with Nik (Constantinou) and Wes (Pahl)?
“I think he responded exceptionally well. I think you saw it in the preseason games, the way he’s performed. He put the ball on the boundary, didn’t give up very many return yards. He never blinked from the minute I brought a guy in. From Nik being here, to Wes coming in, he’s been the same guy day in and day out, and to me, it was his job to lose, and he earned it. He left no question that it was his job.”
Could you rip off the names of your core specialists?
“Winston Reid, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Blake Whiteheart, Malachi Corley, Tylan Wallace, Daniel Thomas. Hope I’m not forgetting anybody.”
(Justin) Jefferson?
“Yeah, Justin Jefferson… well, I haven’t named the rookies, yet. They have to play a game before I start naming them as my core guys. But yes, the rookies Carsen Ryan, Justin Jefferson, those guys.”
McMillon?
“Oh yeah, Donovan McMillon, one hundred percent. Absolutely, yeah. It’s really those veteran core guys and then the rookies are falling in line, you know what I’m saying.”
Andre Szmyt has had a very consistent summer for you. What are you seeing from him as he takes what was a very strong end of last season into this Week One?
“I think that, with Andre, from the very beginning I told him, ‘Hey, you’re the kicker first and foremost, right, day one, but I’m going to challenge you every single day.’ I try to put some scripts together that will challenge him in different situations, and I think he’s responded really well. I think his confidence, he’s more confident in his role on the team, that he’s the kicker, and he’s been here for a while and he’s a little bit more sure of himself, I’d say, just because he’s been here a full year now and he’s been the kicker from day one since I’ve been here.”
Will KC (Concepcion Jr.) be the punt returner? Will he get all the work? Does it depend on what kind of workload he’s getting?
“I do think that there are some considerations to be had when you consider KC going back there at punt returner, depending on what his role is on offense. Whether or not how much we use him, if we use him. That’s why we have a number of guys getting catches after practice: Isaiah Bond, Tylan Wallace, Denzel Ward…Denzel Boston, excuse me, not Denzel Ward. But it’s a number of guys getting catches every day. That’s been my whole thing since day one during the offseason. As many guys that can catch that ball after practice, during practice, the better.”
Can we see like a rotation of guys on Sunday?
“It really is. It’s kind of one of those things where you have to see how the game is going. I have a guy in mind, I’d love to see KC get out there and get some reps, but we have to be a little bit flexible with what we’re doing based on how the game’s going. And this will be the first full game some of these guys have played in a long time. In preseason, you get a certain amount of quarters, a certain amount of plays, but now it’s a full game, so we’ll see where we’re at conditioning-wise.”
What kind of weapon is Cam Little?
“Oh, Cam Little? Yeah, he changes the game, really, to be honest with you. When you get to midfield, he starts to get into field-goal range. So, he’s a guy that we’ve made a big emphasis on, just letting the whole entire organization, the team know that this guy has the longest kick in NFL history. That when he gets around the 50-yard line, there’s a chance, now, he could go for a field goal in that situation. So, it just kind of changes your mindset a little bit knowing you’re going against a kicker with that kind of range.”
And then how about your kick returner? How’d that shapen up now that we’re right here?
“Yeah, I think, again, I get a lot of reps for a lot of guys because you don’t know how it’s going to go. Malachi Corley, Dylan Sampson are getting reps. Raheim (Sanders) is getting reps as well. And Tylan’s been back there. We got Noah (Igbinoghene) that just got in the building. So, there’s some guys getting reps back there that I feel really good about the guys we have back there. I think we have some depth and that if I’ve got Malachi and 22 [Dylan Sampson] back there, Dylan, I feel good. And if I don’t, then I feel pretty good, too, so.”
You mentioned Malachi, there was so much talk about that sixth wide receiver spot on the roster throughout training camp, and obviously someone like Luke Floriea had a good camp. How much does special teams come into play when you’re sort of whittling those things down and trying to finalize who makes the final roster for you guys?
“I think that it is a big factor for the lower half of the roster. The guys that are your fifth and sixth wide receiver, your third running back, your third and fourth tight end, your fourth, fifth, and sixth linebacker. Those are conversations that me, AB (Andrew Berry) and Coach (Todd) Monken have, and we kind of say, ‘Okay, this is what he brings to the table in terms of special teams, this is what he brings to the table on offense,’ and then we try to make the best decision possible. Ultimately, I just offer my opinion, and then the decision-makers above me decide ultimately who’s going to be here and who’s not. But I do think that I’m heard. So, I think Malachi Corley being on this team has a lot to do with his performance in training camp and in the preseason.”
Do you think there’s anything that Taylen Green could possibly do for you on special teams, maybe not right away, but as you move forward given that height?
“Believe it or not, when we got him during the draft, I think I walked down to Mike’s (Bajakian) office and said, ‘Hey, is there any way we can use this guy on special teams?’ But I think we all agreed, give him a chance to play quarterback and succeed there and let’s have him focus on that. That’s hard enough as it is. So no, there’s no plans to use him on special teams as of right now, but that was the thing that crossed my mind.”
What appeals to you about his skill set, potentially?
“He’s fast and athletic, and you put Taylen at personal protector, that changes things the way a punt return team looks at you.”
Three years into the new kickoff rule now and there were no changes this offseason. Do you think things have finally settled down and teams know the strategy and everything?
“Well, it did change a little bit this year, they added the fourth ‘float’ player, so you can have up to four float players now. So, they did make a little change to it. It’s evolving. It’s ever evolving. I think it’s one of the more challenging phases of the game. You spend a lot of time on punt, that’s always been the emphasis over the course of my NFL career, but now I find myself going into work more on kickoff return, just because it is a very, very difficult play for these players. They have a guy five yards in front of them, and they’ve got to work their feet laterally to get in position and not hold the man. So, it’s a challenging phase. So, I think it’s still evolving, and there are still different strategies that you’re thinking about that could be used to have success.”
Much of it is coaching the kicker too, because with the bounce kicks, but also it used to be just putting it in the end zone, but now it’s trying to put it before the goal line.
“Yeah, for me, I like that there are no touchbacks, a minimal amount of touchbacks, because it’s another opportunity for our guys to play football. So, I like the play the way it is and I’m excited. I think it changes the strategy in terms of, yes, you’re always thinking about how I can get that touchback, minor, you know, the touchback where it goes to the 20-yard line, that’s big. Getting a drive started on the 20-yard line these days is a big deal. So, I think that’s what entices special teams coaches is to see if I can get that ball to the 20-yard line by hitting in the landing zone and having it go in the end zone. And either go out of the end zone or being downed by the returner.”
Going back to Andre, obviously not in a kicking competition this year, but how much with a guy like him, who’s obviously undrafted, have to fight to get on the roster in the first place, going through some adversity last year. It seems like that fight against complacency might not be a thing just given his background. Is that a fair assessment?
“I think there’s absolutely no way that he’s complacent. And getting back to what I said originally that we’re challenging him every single day, mentally and physically. And one thing I know about Andre is that he does not like to miss a warm-up kick, a practice kick, a game kick. He’s one of those rare guys that, when he goes through adversity, he responds really well to it. So, I do not feel any type of complacency from him. I feel like he’s more sure of himself, and he’s more confident in his ability to go out there and win games.”
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