A few minutes with ...

FOXBOROUGH – Earlier this week, Patriots safety/receiver Ray Ventrone talked about his introduction to football, growing up in Western Pennsylvania, and some of his interests outside of the game:

You grew up in Pittsburgh. What are your fondest memories of that time?
“I was there for my whole life, and my parents still live there. We lived in the same house. We were big Steelers fans. I remember, being a kid, rooting for the Steelers but obviously not anymore. It’s a nice city, the people are friendly, and I think it’s a good city to raise a family.”

Favorite player growing up?
“Rod Woodson.”

Western Pennsylvania has that great quarterback tradition. Was that something you were well aware of as a kid?
“I was definitely aware of that – Marino, Montana, there were so many of them. My dad actually went to the same high school as Johnny Unitas. That was always pretty cool.”

When did you start playing football?
“I started playing when I was 8, Midget Football League. My area didn’t have a team, so I played for a city team, Brookline. I’d go 20 minutes over to Brookline every day. It was fun. Football, you take it serious even at that age.”

What position?
“I played running back and middle linebacker when I was little.”

When did you switch to safety?
“Once I started getting older, around middle school. I played running back and safety all through high school.”

You attended college at Villanova. Was that always going to be the case?
“No, actually, I was looking at a couple of other I-AA schools and Villanova was the last school to offer me. It happened by accident almost. I was fortunate to get offered from them and everything worked out.”

What is your life like outside of football?
“I’m married, we have a dog. I never had a dog growing up. It’s an exciting time for us. We like living in the Boston area. It’s another great area to raise a family and hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to have some children. It’s been a great, full experience being up here.”

What is the ideal day for you outside of being at Gillette Stadium?
“I just like to relax and hang out, catch up on some shows that I’ve recorded, or go to the movies. Just basically hang out, and I’m always watching [football] film.”

Hobbies?
“I like to golf in the offseason. I just started doing that the last two years, and it’s been fun – a good way to relax. It’s like an active rest day. Go to the movies. I like to go out to eat with my wife, and hang out with my friends, and my brother and family and stuff.”

Favorite restaurant?
“One of our favorites is in North Attleboro, called the Blackington Inn.”

Being an NFL player, is it something you always felt was possible, even without the gift of prototype size?
“When you’re younger, you always pretend to be an NFL player, if you’re messing around with your buddies. I guess as I got older, I guess I didn’t necessarily think I wouldn’t make it, but it wasn’t the No. 1 thought in my head. I worked hard. I overcame some things that happened. Here I am, and it’s been great.”

At the same time, I’m sure you don’t feel like you can get too comfortable. But that must have been a career highlight when you found out you made the team out of training camp this year.
“It definitely was. It was awesome. All my hard work that I’ve been doing since high school, I felt it paid off. Still, I knew that didn’t guarantee me anything, and every week I’m learning, and I feel like I’m getting more comfortable. Most importantly, I feel like I’m getting better every week also.”

Football wise, do you consider yourself a safety or a receiver?
“Both now. I think learning from the guys at receiver has helped me out a lot – especially Wes [Welker], because we play the same position. So that’s helped out a lot. But I’ve still been playing safety too.”