Cornerback Corey Ballentine played college football at Washburn and was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He also played for the New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals before joining the Green Bay Packers.
What’s this season been like for you?
This season has obviously been up and down for me. I started on practice squad, and I’ve kind of worked my way up. That’s kind of how every year my whole journey to the league has been. It hasn’t always been easy or how I thought it would be, but I just kept my head down, kept working and let it all play out how it plays out. When I get my opportunity, take that opportunity and make the best of it.
Was it hard to stay positive?
There’s been times where it was hard, yeah. I mean, switching teams or being released for whatever reason, or things that were out of my control. It was hard at some points – just believing in myself. But I feel like over time, I just kind of, firstly, relied on my faith and believing in God and believing that whatever is happening, it’s happening for a reason and he’ll get me through it. And to this point, he has. I feel like when there’s times where I doubt myself, I have to have something else to lean on, and that’s kind of what I go to.
There’s that phrase that you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready. A challenge when back on practice squad?
I wouldn’t say it was necessarily super hard, because I feel like I always have tried to prepare like that anyway. Especially since being activated, I prepare like anything could happen if somebody gets injured and I get thrown in. It’s happened before in my career where I’ve just been thrown in, and I’ve been expected to play at a certain level. So I kind of know how it goes already, and I try to stay ready before I get out there so I don’t have anything sneak up on me and I’m prepared for whatever situation that’s in front of me.
I’m guessing it’s maybe not exactly what you thought your career was going to play out, right?
I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a surprise. I didn’t really look at it in any type of way. I just kind of went to practice one day and they were just like, ‘Hey you’re going to be up.’ Or just kind of how everything played out this season, just getting my opportunity, getting elevated off of the practice squad, getting signed. I just stayed ready. I just kept working. I didn’t let the moment get too big, made plays where I needed to make plays, be where I was supposed to be, know my job, know my assignment, execute that, and don’t make it harder than it needs to be.
And I really think that’s just how I got to this point. I don’t do more than I need to do; I don’t do less than I need to do. I don’t make it bigger than what it is. I do my job and let the rest handle itself.
What’s it been like going out of the tunnel, ‘Starting at corner from Washburn’? It’s got to be pretty cool, considering everything.
It’s a wild moment. It’s a blessing. Being out there, my teammates supporting me, trusting me to be out there, and just the atmosphere, especially (against the Chiefs), was amazing. I’m glad I got the opportunity. I’m glad I could go out there and show what I can do.
Are you happy with how you’ve played?
Yeah, obviously, there’s things that I could clean up, but I feel like, so far, I’ve done pretty well.
The only thing I would like more is turnovers. But those come. I try not to force it. I don’t want to sacrifice the integrity of the defense trying to chase plays. I want to let it come to me whenever it comes. Put myself in the best position to make the play, play the ball and, when it comes, it’ll come. As of right now, I’m more focused on doing my job and then making sure we win the game.
What was the key on the defense with so many second-stringers in the secondary?
I feel like initially we were losing close games, and it was more so because of execution. We were practicing hard; we were doing everything we needed to do in practice. But I feel like when it came to the game, it was things like penalties that were throwing us off, or small mental errors here or there, or a missed cue here or there, or we didn’t see this quite fast enough or whatever.
I feel like as time has went on, we’ve kind of meshed a little better. We looked back on what we could do as individuals to help the team get better. And I feel like everybody’s kind of taken hold of that and tried to pick something out of their own game to make themselves better. And then, as we’ve been on the field together, we kind of just jelled together. We’re just executing a lot better, getting off the field, offense putting together drives, special teams making plays and giving us good field position. I feel like it’s all complementary ball. We’re just playing executing much more efficiently than we were.
What were you focused on?
First, tackling, because we don’t practice tackling in practice. So, I felt like going out there in the game, I wanted to make sure that I was keeping the right leverage, tackling, setting edges to give everybody inside a chance get back to the ball. Other than that, just keeping my leverage in man coverage, using my help, knowing where my help is and giving myself the best opportunity to play the ball. I feel like that’s kind of what I’ve been working on. Being patient in my press, not reaching, not being too aggressive, just being patient and working my feet before my hands.
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