Eagles notebook: Kelee Ringo dominating his role

Eagles notebook: Kelee Ringo dominating his role originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Kelee Ringo was asked a question he wasn’t ready for: Which position does he like more on special teams — Gunner or vice?

“Ooohhh! That’s a hard question,” Ringo said. “I’m not sure I can answer that.”

He seems to like them both.

And even though the second-year cornerback out of Georgia isn’t playing much on defense these days, he has become a key special teams contributor for Michael Clay’s units. While Ringo’s work as a gunner on the punt team gets the most attention, Clay this week brought up Ringo’s ability as a vice (or jammer) on the punt return team.

“Where he really shines, in my opinion, is at the vice spot,” Clay said. “We put a lot of trust in Kelee that we’re going to leave him on an island. He’s got to take care of their best gunner one-on-one. He’s stepped up to the plate every time, and he’s really delivered for us. That allows you to get a vice somewhere else or play 8 in the box, knowing how good he is on the outside.”

Ringo, 22, takes his role on special teams seriously and enjoys playing that vice spot. He said the key is using leverage and being physical the whole way down the field.

When asked, Ringo agreed that his background as a cornerback helps in this role. He starts off the punt play going backwards and then has to stop the gunner. The only difference is that as a vice, he can make contact the whole way down the field without worrying about a pass coming.

“Yessir, most definitely,” Ringo said. “Just being a protector. I always compare playing corner to being a left tackle as well. Because the receiver attacking like a D-end is attacking.”

In this case, the gunner is the attacker and it’s Ringo’s job to stop him.

“Having the feeling that you’re able to free your guy up to make a play, it’s a good feeling for sure,” he said. “You have to be really selfless to do it.”

A prized…