Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons

Attached Thumbnails · 10-23-2016, 08:25 AM

Kenny Vaccaro played wide receiver at a University of Texas football camp the summer before his senior year of high school.

Before the camp ended, Bobby Kennedy — the wide receivers coach at the time — told defensive backs coach Duane Akina to look at Vaccaro, who primarily played safety, running back and receiver in high school. Having coached first-round picks like Earl Thomas, Michael Huff, Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross, Akina had an eye for talent in the secondary.

By the time players competed in scrimmages at the end of camp, described by Akina as "one-hand touch," Vaccaro showed the veteran coach everything he needed to see.

"Freaking Kenny, he was playing life and death," Akina said. "I told our football (operations) guy, I said, 'Hey, with this Kenny Vaccaro kid now, we may be testing our insurance policy. He may be breaking somebody's neck out here.'"

Texas coaches were actually more curious to see Vaccaro's high school teammate, quarterback Casey Pachall, who eventually went to TCU. By the end of the camp, though, Akina realized he'd found another defensive back with the passion of the others who'd come through Texas in preceding years.

"He just played so hard, you know?" Akina said. "I was just so thankful that my son was never on the field opposite because it was like just stay low, stay low, stay out of the way. He was playing to win."

Vaccaro's passion helped him earn the nickel spot for the Longhorns, and Akina said he was one of the most versatile players he coached at a program with the label "DBU."

Now in his fourth year with the New Orleans Saints, Vaccaro is showing just how flexible he is. He's the starting strong safety, but with a depleted cornerback group, he's playing heavily at the nickel spot when the Saints go with their three-safety package. Vaccaro has also played some linebacker this season, including the Will spot in a dime package in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers.

Read Full Story | NOLA.com

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Last edited by Halo; 10-23-2016 at 11:45 AM..

jeanpierre · 10-23-2016, 03:57 PM

Well, the defense held the Chiefs' offense to 326 total yards on offense (112 rushing, 214 passing) so the film study Vaccaro and Company put in helped some; maybe Monday they can work on tackling?

Rell&Gold · 10-23-2016, 04:22 PM

yea those false starts hurt stalled a couple drives,,,,Our first complete game as a team and we lose to a couple bad calls bad the ref in particular that Challenged catch by Payton should have been overturned....Also B.W Webb is a zone corner he's better at playing the area vs. playing the man he gives up 10 yards to easy the INT was just a good play by Eric Berry...dont like throwing off Mark Ingram's rhythm by switching to Hightower either
i

dizzle88 · 10-23-2016, 04:33 PM

Maybe Brees and the offense should decline the day off like Kenny did, the redzone fumble and pick 6 killed us.

K Major · 10-23-2016, 04:35 PM

Paul Kruger was MIA today.

hagan714 · 10-23-2016, 09:11 PM

we all knew Kenny was netter as a pest lining up all over the place than he is as a SS. Same will be for Bell IMO. Neither are true safeties in the sense of the word but have the skill set to drive QBs crazy. the juries still out on Bell.

Crusader · 10-24-2016, 04:47 AM

Originally Posted by K Major

Paul Kruger was MIA today.

Yeah i rather see Edebali in that spot.

10-23-2016, 08:25 AM	#1
Threaded by jeanpierre Site Donor 2018 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Thibodaux Posts: 43,543 Blog Entries: 39 Rating: (0 votes - average) Kenny Vaccaro played wide receiver at a University of Texas football camp the summer before his senior year of high school. Before the camp ended, Bobby Kennedy — the wide receivers coach at the time — told defensive backs coach Duane Akina to look at Vaccaro, who primarily played safety, running back and receiver in high school. Having coached first-round picks like Earl Thomas, Michael Huff, Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross, Akina had an eye for talent in the secondary. Twitter By the time players competed in scrimmages at the end of camp, described by Akina as "one-hand touch," Vaccaro showed the veteran coach everything he needed to see. "Freaking Kenny, he was playing life and death," Akina said. "I told our football (operations) guy, I said, 'Hey, with this Kenny Vaccaro kid now, we may be testing our insurance policy. He may be breaking somebody's neck out here.'" Texas coaches were actually more curious to see Vaccaro's high school teammate, quarterback Casey Pachall, who eventually went to TCU. By the end of the camp, though, Akina realized he'd found another defensive back with the passion of the others who'd come through Texas in preceding years. "He just played so hard, you know?" Akina said. "I was just so thankful that my son was never on the field opposite because it was like just stay low, stay low, stay out of the way. He was playing to win." Vaccaro's passion helped him earn the nickel spot for the Longhorns, and Akina said he was one of the most versatile players he coached at a program with the label "DBU." Now in his fourth year with the New Orleans Saints, Vaccaro is showing just how flexible he is. He's the starting strong safety, but with a depleted cornerback group, he's playing heavily at the nickel spot when the Saints go with their three-safety package. Vaccaro has also played some linebacker this season, including the Will spot in a dime package in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers. Read Full Story \| NOLA.com Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Halo; 10-23-2016 at 11:45 AM..
Views: 2323

10-23-2016, 03:57 PM	#2
jeanpierre Site Donor 2018 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Thibodaux Posts: 43,543 Blog Entries: 39	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons Well, the defense held the Chiefs' offense to 326 total yards on offense (112 rushing, 214 passing) so the film study Vaccaro and Company put in helped some; maybe Monday they can work on tackling? dizzle88 and Rell&Gold like this.
	Last edited by jeanpierre; 10-23-2016 at 06:11 PM..

10-23-2016, 04:22 PM	#3
Rell&Gold 1000 Posts + Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Washington, D.C Posts: 2,874	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons yea those false starts hurt stalled a couple drives,,,,Our first complete game as a team and we lose to a couple bad calls bad the ref in particular that Challenged catch by Payton should have been overturned....Also B.W Webb is a zone corner he's better at playing the area vs. playing the man he gives up 10 yards to easy the INT was just a good play by Eric Berry...dont like throwing off Mark Ingram's rhythm by switching to Hightower either i

10-23-2016, 04:33 PM	#4
dizzle88 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10,838	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons Maybe Brees and the offense should decline the day off like Kenny did, the redzone fumble and pick 6 killed us.

10-23-2016, 04:35 PM	#5
K Major Site Donor 2019 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Bedford, TX Posts: 24,011 Blog Entries: 3	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons Paul Kruger was MIA today.

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10-23-2016, 09:11 PM	#6
hagan714 LB Mentallity Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 15,870 Blog Entries: 68	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons we all knew Kenny was netter as a pest lining up all over the place than he is as a SS. Same will be for Bell IMO. Neither are true safeties in the sense of the word but have the skill set to drive QBs crazy. the juries still out on Bell.

10-24-2016, 04:47 AM	#7
Crusader Resident Swede Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Märsta, Sweden Posts: 7,983	Re: Kenny Vaccaro's versatility becoming one of Saints' best defensive weapons Originally Posted by K Major Paul Kruger was MIA today. Yeah i rather see Edebali in that spot.

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