Greene Reflects On First Year In Green Bay
HARRISONBURG – The word Raven Greene used to describe the highlight play of his rookie season can also apply to the entirety of his first year with the Green Bay Packers.
“Surreal,” said Greene, who still maintains as humble and as unassuming of a personality as he did throughout his All-American career at James Madison.
The former Dukes safety returned to Bridgeforth Stadium to visit JMU’s spring practice on Saturday.
Undrafted out of Madison, Greene signed a rookie free agent contract to play for Green Bay following last year’s NFL Draft. With no guarantees, he had to earn his way onto the roster, learn how to play special teams and wait for his chance see action on defense.
But when he did finally lineup at safety, Greene notched a third-down sack in the third quarter to help the Packers to a Week 10 win over the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field.
“That was big,” Greene said. “I mean that was really big, man, especially since I never got a sack here at JMU. So I got my number called and I was able to execute, but I don’t really have words for it.”
Later in the same game, he proved how quickly he understood his different roles on various special teams as he converted a fake punt on a direct snap for a 26-yard gain and first down.
“It’s fun. I never got the opportunity to do it here,” Greene said of having a position on special teams, “but playing a different role, it’s a really important phase and you find that out because it’s hard to win on Sundays and you do whatever you can to help.
“That’s the essence of our job.”
The Virginia Beach native and First Colonial High School product said he went into rookie minicamp and then into training camp knowing he’d do whatever the coaching staff in Green Bay asked him to do.
“I had a couple of people tell me that there was a chance [to make the team],” Greene said. “But I kept my head down and kept working through it, and that’s what I felt really allowed me to do what I did. I kept blinders on.”
Greene, who was a team captain in his senior season at JMU and tallied 70 tackles to go along with a team-high six interceptions during the Dukes’ 2016 national championship season as a junior, said it was easy to maintain a focused approach while knowing how difficult it would be to make the Packers.
About this time a year ago, Greene went through pro day in Harrisonburg as a prospect not on the radar of many. He wasn’t invited to a postseason all-star game and certainly didn’t get the nod to attend the NFL Combine.
“I talked with my agent and the different teams, but there was really no indicator of what would happen on draft day,” Greene recalled. “I mean but with the way everything played out, I got signed as an undrafted free agent, which was a blessing. There was a chance I could just have gotten a camp invite and that happens to a lot of guys, and to have that [contract], it solidified me and it propelled me to do what I did. And having the chips fall where they did, it put me exactly where I belong.”
Green Bay changed head coaches, parting ways with longtime headman Mike McCarthy in December and hiring new coach Matt LaFleur in January. The good news for Greene is that LaFleur retained defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, whose system Greene played in last year.
“It was cool to be able to do what I did with coming in and making some kind of impact,” Greene said. “It came on special teams mostly, but towards the end of the year, my role grew. I’m just blessed really to have things happen the way that they did and I’m really looking forward to this next year.”