Ventrone's value? He's very versatile

Patriot has taken to time at receiver

Hard-working Ray Ventrone is getting work at wide receiver, but won't drop the ball at defensive back or on special teams. (File/Stephen Senne/Associated Press)

FOXBOROUGH - So how did Ray Ventrone spend his time off during the bye week? Funny you should ask. The versatile Patriot went back to Villanova, his alma mater, to watch his brother, Ross, a 5-foot-9-inch, 185-pound junior safety, help the Wildcats pull a 26-20 upset of Richmond, the top-ranked team in the Football Championship Subdvision.

"He's a very good athlete," Ray said of Ross. "A good player. He's probably the same height, maybe a little bit lighter than me. But he's fast, though. A good tackler. A tough guy."

Good athlete. Fast. Good tackler. Tough guy.

Those must be family traits. In describing his younger brother, Ventrone, a fourth-year defensive back/wide receiver/special teams player originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005, seemed to describe himself.

At least that's how the 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound Ventrone came to be regarded when he made New England's 53-man roster out of training camp. Oh, and did we mention it was as a wide receiver? It was a pretty impressive accomplishment, especially since Ventrone had not played the position "since my junior or senior year in high school" at Chartiers Valley in Pittsburgh, and that he did so by hanging with and learning from the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

"No one has worked harder than Ray," said coach Bill Belichick. "He's just continued to improve the last couple years. He has good playing strength. He has good speed and he's a tough, fearless guy. He will throw his body in there, anywhere, in any situation. He has good concentration, like we saw in preseason, catching the ball - taking hits in traffic, hanging onto it and running with it after the catch."

After spending his first year on New England's practice squad and his second year on injured reserve, Ventrone was released Feb. 13, 2007. Eight days later, he signed with the Jets and landed on their practice squad. The Jets released him Sept. 12, 2007, and, seven days later, he returned to Foxborough for a second tour of duty with the Patriots as a defensive back.

He bounced between the practice squad and active roster last season, making his NFL debut Nov. 4 on special teams in a come-from-behind 24-20 victory at Indianapolis.

Ventrone, however, had to reinvent himself when he was approached about making a move to wide receiver.

"I was excited about the opportunity to learn another position," he said. "I was excited that they felt I could do it. In my mind, before I was asked to do it, I saw receivers as probably the best athletes on the field. Look at Moss and Welker, those guys are great players, and to be able to learn from them has been a good time."

The position switch required more than a few adjustments on Ventrone's part. What was the biggest thing he had to adapt to?

"I mean, everything," Ventrone said. "I had to learn how to line up. How to hear the formation [in the huddle] and how to get aligned. It just started there, playing in the spring. I'm still learning every day, literally. I've got good guys to learn from in Welker, Jabar [Gaffney], Moss, and all those guys."

Ventrone's earnest approach to his new assignment did not go unnoticed.

"Ray's the type of player that works hard," Belichick said. "He's improved steadily. He's gotten stronger, faster and quicker in his training. He's become a better football player because of his techniques and work ethic on the field. He's not really a starting type of player on offense, and defense, that's actually helped him in ways that he's been able to get reps on both sides of the ball. He's really been able to develop as an offensive and a defensive player, as well as his role in the kicking game."

Ventrone's versatility enabled him to create a unique niche on the team, which, of course, made him all the more valuable when it came time to formulating the 53-man roster.

"Any time you can develop as a player and learn something new about the game, it's beneficial," said Ventrone, who played in two regular-season games and two playoff games last season. "In my case, I was able to go out on the offensive side and learn some things about defenses that you normally wouldn't think of as a defensive player; how receivers attack a defense, and so yeah, I think it has helped me."

Said Belichick, "He's kind of a unique player in his role, his niche, and his versatility. You usually don't see a player have the kind of exceptional toughness and the kind of physical play that he does - [someone who] does all that.

"That's kind of a rare combination of forces coming together in his skill set."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.