The versatile Rashod Berry hopes to stick on defense with Patriots

At Ohio State, Rashod Berry never lacked versatility. Throughout his five-year collegiate career, the Ohio native became the Buckeyes first two-way player since 2012 when he played both offense and defense twice in the same game against Maryland and Rutgers last season.

In those games, Berry played linebacker and fullback.

Those examples sum up Berry’s collegiate experience. He was willing to do whatever to help Ohio State, but lacked a true position to call his own. [...]

At Ohio State, Rashod Berry never lacked versatility. Throughout his five-year collegiate career, the Ohio native became the Buckeyes first two-way player since 2012 when he played both offense and defense twice in the same game against Maryland and Rutgers last season.

In those games, Berry played linebacker and fullback.

Those examples sum up Berry’s collegiate experience. He was willing to do whatever to help Ohio State, but lacked a true position to call his own. That’s been seen with the Patriots, who announced Berry as a tight end when they signed him as an undrafted free agent, but have been playing him on the defensive line in training camp.

"Well, they wanted to see me on that side of the ball, obviously, but at the end of the day, I'm a football player," Berry said. "So, if they want me back on offense, I'll play offense, special teams, special teams, defense, defense. So either way it goes. They just wanted to see what I could do on defense."

Over the last three years, Berry caught 17 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns while playing tight end and fullback for Ohio State. He said that he moved from tight end to defense as a sophomore, but an early to one of the team’s tight ends moved him back to the offensive end. Berry mainly played offense until last season where he saw reps at linebacker. He admits that moving to offense was frustrating at first.

"When I went to defense my sophomore year, it was kind of frustrating because I was gaining momentum," Berry said. "And I was doing so well that I was getting my confidence back. It didn't bother me that much at all because like I said I saw the field as soon as I went back to tight end and I just ran with it."

With the Patriots, Berry profiles as a raw, but athletic prospect. At 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, he moves quick for a defensive end and had some bright spots in training camp. He’s considered a long shot to make the Patriots 53-man roster, but the move to defensive end hasn’t seemed too big for this rookie.

"I mean obviously I feel very comfortable that I played it all my life," Berry said. "There's no jitters or anything like that. Just got to get better and develop every day."

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ