Allen facing stiff competition
FOXBORO – When ranking this summer’s top position battles in New England Patriots training camp, the punting competition between the incumbent (Ryan Allen) and the undrafted rookie (Corey Bojorquez) isn’t likely going to generate enough buzz to appear near the top of the list.
As for which left-footed punter has a leg up with seven summer practices now in the books, it still remains too early to tell. Allen and Bojorquez have been splitting the reps equally, trading off after the other has two chances.
“Honestly, it’s just like as if I was training with someone,” Bojorquez said after Thursday’s practice. “I really don’t see it as much as a competition. With Ryan, it’s about bettering myself each day.”
Allen was one of the punters that Bojorquez kept close tabs on while in high school. These days, Bojorquez is no longer watching video of Allen. He’s standing next to him on the same practice field.
“He’s very calm and smooth with what he does,” Bojorquez said about Allen. “It’s pretty cool to be working with him.”
With the first preseason game next Thursday, it will be interesting to see how Allen and Bojorquez are deployed. Bill Belichick certainly knows what he has in Allen, who has spent all five of his previous NFL seasons with the Patriots. Might Belichick be more inclined to give Bojorquez an extended run when the Washington Redskins visit Gillette Stadium?
“I’m not sure what the plan is. You’ll have to ask coach Belichick that,” Bojorquez said.
Bojorquez was signed by the Patriots in May and went toe-to-toe with Allen during June’s mini-camp and OTA sessions. At the University of New Mexico last season, Bojorquez ranked fourth in the nation, averaging 47.3 yards per punt. Only 11 of his 67 punts were returned.
To Bojorquez, the biggest adjustment from moving from college to the pros is understanding the plan of attack prior to letting it fly.
“In college, it was always about going to the left no matter what the weather was,” Bo- jorquez said. “(With the Patriots), we go off the weather a little bit more and how we’re feeling. I like that a lot. It’s definitely a lot winder than what I’m used to. I’m just keeping in mind that if there’s a cross wind, I’m probably going to want to play it more off to the right and use the wind.”
The road to punting began with Bojorquez cuing up videos on YouTube and using his parents’ front lawn to practice with a $15 football from Walmart. He wasn’t the beneficiary of proper coaching until he went to junior college in his hometown of Norwalk, Calif. He was somewhat on his own during his two years at New Mexico, but he would often call his junior college coach and send him video clips to critique.
In addition to sending the ball into the sky, Bojorquez is also a holder on field goals, a role he’s had since his senior year of high school. In short time, he’s been able to develop a strong chemistry with New England long snapper Joe Cardona and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. On Thursday, the Patriots on a few occasions ran the hurry-up offense for the field-goal unit. Gostkowski was perfect each time, which in turn makes Bojorquez look good in his quest to unseat Allen.
“At first Stephen would watch the way I would hold on field goals. He’ll tell me if the wind is going this way, he wants me to hold it a certain way,” Bojorquez said. “You just have to go in calm, cool, and relaxed and treat it like any other field goal.”
As for his goals for the rest of the summer, Bojorquez says it boils down to consistency.
“They’ll be some days where I have to work around some stuff, but I’m just trying to get better every day,” he said. “I think I’m getting better, whether it’s holding and getting
that right or getting more consistent with my punts.”