This past weekend, multiple Rutgers football players joined the other 20 or so alumni currently playing in the National Football League. The Scarlet Knights currently have two specialists in the league in long snappers Clark Harris (Bengals) and Andrew DePaola (Buccaneers), but they added one more to that club on Saturday when punter Ryan Anderson has been invited to the New England Patriots rookie mini camp in two weeks.

The Knight Report spoke with Anderson’s trainer and 16-year NFL veteran Rich Camarillo to talk a little bit about what the Patriots might be getting Ryan Anderson.

“I coach at a high school over here in Arizona and Ryan has some family down here,” Camarillo told TKR. “He was just asking around if anyone in the area has some kicking experience that he could train with in Phoenix. It all started about four years ago.”

Camarillo went on to talk about his relationship with Anderson, and went into detail about some of the things they’ve worked on in the past.

“When he first came to me he had a lot more flaws than what he has now,” said Camarillo. “We cleaned a lot of those things up. Ryan himself has just continued to improved. He’s worked hard in the weight room and all of the other things too, not just punting. I’ve just seen him grow and get better in every facet of punting the ball. He has a good hang time now, his get off times have improved, and even on his steps he has shown improvement everywhere. Four years ago I would’ve told him I don’t know about playing in the NFL, but now I believe that he has a real good shot at making it.”

As stated before Camarillo played 16 seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Phoenix Cardinals where he was named a pro bowler four times in five seasons.

“I try to compare him to myself back when I played in the league,” Camarillo stated. “I wasn’t the biggest punter, or the most powerful. However I still showed that I could be a pretty good punter and I think that’s the category Ryan falls under. I think he can become a very good directional punter and I think that’s going to be his ticket into getting in the league. He’s going to have to perform for a coach or a team and just going to have to come through.”

This past season Anderson made the big jump from playing division three football at Olivet College to playing in the Big Ten conference with Rutgers.

“There were some times where he told me he felt he was struggling at Rutgers, so I asked him to send me some film,” said Carmarillo. “In the film you could see he was stepping sideways sometimes, but I just told him to remember to stay straight. I don’t really know what the coaching staff at Rutgers actually did for him, but I do know that when he came back to me after Rutgers I saw improvement. He’s just a lot better punter now.”

“They are getting a punter who is also a great athlete,” Camarillo said. “I know Ryan played some receiver in college over at Olivet. Any team that picks him up is getting a good athlete. I know most teams in the NFL obviously want a good kicker or punter, but having a guy who is an athlete is just bonus. He works hard, and he has the right mindset. He would just be a good fit for just about any team.”

Stay tuned for more on Anderson and other NFL Knights right here on TheKnightReport.Net, you’re number one source for everything Rutgers Athletics.