Kalen Ballage – June 12, 2018
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Tuesday, June 12, 2018
RB Kalen Ballage
(How much have you thought about … It’s clear obviously that RB Kenyan Drake and RB Frank Gore are going to play. How much have you had in your mind of “I’ve got to give this staff a reason to play a third running back this season?” I know learning has been a priority but has that thought come into your mind?) – “Yes. I mean I feel like I’ve always been a playmaker so those things come into my mind automatically. But I definitely want to be a guy that stands out (and is a) hard worker – everything that I do on and off the field. There’s probably not a guy in here that doesn’t want to be noticed for doing good things.”
(I know there is the usual crash course of trying to get into the playbook and practice and everything like that but you also have a lot of veterans around you. What have you picked up from the guys in your room?) – “It’s funny because Frank (Gore) is a vet but he’s new to the offense, as well. And Kenyan (Drake) is a vet but still really young so it’s been a nice mixture. It’s allowed me to really get into the playbook and learn and different aspects of it, and learn differently. Not everyone learns the same but it’s helped me a lot.”
(Have you asked RB Frank Gore for his autograph while he’s been here?) – “(laughter) I haven’t had to. I’ve got his number.”
(What kind of feedback have you gotten from the coaching staff so far?) – “I’m not a guy that makes a lot of mental errors. There’s going to be stuff here and there because I’m learning a completely new playbook. It’s a lot of information to learn but I’m just trying to be the most consistent football player I can be right now.”
(What do you like about the offense so far?) – “There’s nothing that I don’t like about it. Everything the defense gives us, we’ve got something to give them back so it’s a nice offense to play in, for sure.”
(I saw a cool social media video on the Miami Dolphins account where RB Kenyan Drake was giving you some extra time, maybe after practice or something. What specifically has he said about what he remembers about his rookie season that he’s shared with you?) – “Kind of what you heard on the video. Somebody put their arm around him and kind of did the same thing, so I appreciate him not only being a teammate but kind of like a big brother.”
(How much Arizona State reminiscing have you been doing with QB Brock Osweiler? Had you met him before you came here?) – “We’ve always been around each other kind of in the same vicinity but I actually never met him until I got here. We knew about each other so when I got here, I had the opportunity to speak to him. He went to a completely different Arizona State than what I went to. He had Coach (Dennis) Erickson and it was a little bit different over there. We’re still Sun Devils.”
(You’re obviously more known as a guy who had success catching the ball out of the backfield. Do you have a mentality of when you catch the ball, after you do it, to sort of become a running back? There seems to be a second gear you have at times after catching.) – “Absolutely. I don’t have one specific mentality though in anything that I do. I try to do everything. I want to score every time I touch the ball. That’s kind of how I am. Definitely though, when I catch the ball, I want to make a difference in the passing game.”
(What was the most humbling moment for you so far out on the field?) – “I think practice one day we just started going super fast. I’m from a no-huddle offense at Arizona State or whatever. I’ve been in the no-huddle stuff and going really fast but going really fast and not knowing all of the plays is completely different. There were a few times where my mind is running 100 miles per hour trying to figure things out.”
(How does it feel when you are out there trying to do that and you know that you don’t know?) – “It’s not that I don’t know. It’s am I 100 percent sure? You kind of have an idea of what you are supposed to be doing but maybe you aren’t fully sure about it. That’s what I said: just being consistent and knowing what I’ve got, so you can be very decisive and play fast.”
(We heard from TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe saying they’ll have this white board where they’ll quiz each other on plays. Have you done that with any rookie teammate?) – “We’ve done a lot of that stuff. Me and Buddy Howell are roommates so we go through a lot of the plays, the system and then try to get it down. One thing about that too is you can’t try to look into the playbook too much. You can fry your brain if you look at it too much, so it’s just about finding that balance.”
(One of the coaches mentioned in blocking, and I’m quoting him here, he says “In the NFL you get odd defenses – spinners, floaters and trap blitzes.” I don’t know what that stuff means but it sounds kind of complex. What have you learned about the sort of stuff that they try to do to you in the NFL?) – “There’s a trick to the trade in everything. All of that stuff, yes it sounds confusing. It was kind of confusing to me in college when I (first) heard that stuff and now I’m getting more detailed about it now that I’m in the NFL. There’s tricks to the trade. Everything on defense, every blitz that they have coming, we have something to counteract that.”
(Do you have a good RB Frank Gore story yet?) – “(laughter) Yes, I’ve got a few. Top Golf is not Frank’s thing. (laughter) We’re very competitive – our whole running back group – so we got in there and none of us really know how to hit a golf ball; but we were hitting it hard as hell. It was going far but not where we want it to go. It was veering off here and here and here. We were all trying to get a little better at that. That was fun.”
(Did RB Frank Gore make contact every time?) – “Oh, yes. We were hitting it. It just wasn’t pretty. (laughter)”
(When you said that your head was spinning a little bit in no-huddle work, was that early?) – “Yes, it was a little bit earlier on.”
(So how have things progressed for you now?) – “Really well. It’s a lot of memorization and stuff like that so repetition helps with that. The more you do it, the less mistakes you make.”
(Is there anything in particular that you’ve tried to pick RB Frank Gore’s brain about?) – “Everything.”
(Like diet, how RB Frank Gore stays durable?) – “Everything. Luckily, me and Frank are … Frank is 14 years in the league but he studies running backs still to this day. He studies running backs younger than him, older than him. He’s really into that and so am I. Luckily he’s that same way or else I’d probably get annoying. (laughter)”
(When you’ve looked at other NFL backs, is there anyone with similar body types as you?) – “I would say David Johnson and Le’Veon Bell. They’re bigger backs that catch the ball well out of the backfield. Those are two really great running backs. Yes, we’ve got the same body type and stuff but they’ve lived up to the hype so that’s where I’m trying to get next.”
