GREEN BAY, Wis. — The line Raven Greene used was familiar, but he probably did so because he had heard it before.

“I feel like the more you know about the defense, the easier it is and you can kind of get put into any role,” Greene, the third-year Green Bay Packers defender and former James Madison All-American safety, said during a Zoom session with reporters this past Saturday.

“The more you know, the better off you are,” Bob Trott, the ex-JMU defensive coordinator and safeties coach, said by phone earlier this week.

And that’s something Trott said he would constantly tell Greene during the standout’s final two seasons in Harrisonburg.

Trott, who had coaching stints in the NFL with the New York Giants, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, said Greene’s ability to adapt to and absorb everything the Packers ask of him has only helped him stick in the league after inking with Green Bay as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2018.

“The more you know and more you can do on the field, the more valuable you are,” Trott said. “Some kids don’t understand that, but Raven does.”

This training camp, Green Bay is preparing Greene to play in a hybrid safety-outside linebacker role for this fall. It’s one he was readying to fill last year and did ahead of suffering an ankle injury in Week 2, which derailed the rest of his 2019 campaign.

Greene racked up six tackles during last year’s season-opening contest against the Chicago Bears. The Packers are slated to kick off this season on Sept. 13 in Minnesota against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“It was tough,” Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said about playing without Greene. “He’s a versatile player who was able to do some good things for us in ’18 and it was unfortunate that in the second game he went down to injury. He was going to be a big part of what we were doing out of that hybrid linebacker-safety type. His versatility, his explosiveness was something we missed and we’re looking forward to being able to take advantage of it this year.

“He looks good. He’s smart. He’s tough. He’s always been able to pick up stuff very quickly and we’re certainly expecting big things out of Raven this year.”

Greene said his ankle healed and he was fully recovered by the time the offseason arrived, allowing him to workout without any restrictions while aiming to be in tip-top shape for this fall.

He put on weight, he said, to build up to the 208 pounds he’s playing at now, giving him more strength when he needs to play closer to the line of scrimmage. In Greene’s senior year at JMU he weighed 190 pounds, and last year he was listed on the Packers’ roster at 197 pounds.

No speed was sacrificed, though, because Greene pointed out he has to be able to run and cover when he plays his natural safety spot like he did when he racked up 14 interceptions throughout his college career with the Dukes.

“With the versatility,” Greene said, “wherever they want to put me, I’m going to make sure my skill set is exactly where it needs to be.”

That matches his philosophy of mastering the various responsibilities he’s assigned also – something he hasn’t let go of since gaining his initial opportunity in Green Bay.

“He had all the tangibles to go in there and win a job,” Trott said. “And he had that level head to do it. A lot of kids go in there and unfortunately the pressure from their family is to make it, and then they think they’re better than they are and they don’t do all the little things.

“I think Raven went in there and realized he had to do all the little things, understood special teams is important and that he had to be smart. I think he had all of those things, and through the backdoor I heard he did. What some kids don’t understand is it’s not a scholarship anymore. It’s actually a job, so every day is like an interview and if you slip up, they’ll get rid of you. I think he understood that and how important it is to do all the little things – do the special teams, learn what to do and do it when he has a chance.”

Even in his rookie year, he managed to thrive in his limited game reps. Greene recorded a sack against the Miami Dolphins that season and later in the same game executed a fake punt, rushing for 26 yards on a direct snap to extend the drive.

“At JMU, we tried to talk to [the players] a lot about what it takes to make it in the NFL,” Trott said. “It’s not what you see on TV and it’s a lot of hard work. It’s being smart and taking advantage of what you’re doing. It’s being smarter than the other guy and I used to tell them that everything you do, somebody sees. And it’ll be something good or something bad.

“[Bill] Parcells used to say, ‘I want guys who get noticed,’ so I used to tell my players that you can get noticed for two things – good things or bad things, and the ones that get noticed for good things usually make the team.”

And early in his third training camp, Greene is getting recognized for all the good things he’s doing in his attempt to bounce back from injury and contribute to the Packers, who finished 13-3 in the regular season, won the NFC North and reached the NFC championship game last fall.

“I feel like the more you know and the more positions you know that the easier it becomes and it really hasn’t been too much of a load,” Greene said. “I think the longer you’re in the defense, the easier it becomes as well. It’s my third year in it and I’m feeling really confident about it.”

He added one aspect of the game he’d like to develop this season is boosting the Packers in their effort to create more turnovers. They had 25 takeaways last season and are looking for more this.

“It’s the quickest way to change the game,” Greene said, “and this year is starting pretty fast and I’m looking forward to seeing that emphasis kind of continue to grow and see how many plays we make.”

Trott said: “He’s always been a smart player. He’s got great physical attributes, so he’s done what he needed to do, but this will be an important year for him to prove he can stay healthy and that he can pick up where he left off. I know [the Packers] like him, though.”