New Orleans Saints Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi Assistant

New Orleans Saints Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi Assistant Special Teams Coach Phil Galiano Video Call with Local Media Wednesday, June 17, 2020 How much consistency does re-signing Zach Wood bring to that kicking unit? (Coach Rizzi): "I think anytime you keep that operation together, you know, I think that's really important. I was fortunate in Miami to have the same snapper the entire time I was there and really realize how important that is. I think Zach really performed well last year. I think he really had a big improvement from the year before. I think that kind of shows the long snapper position is one of those guys where if you're not talking about him, he probably had a great year. He's kind of like an umpire in baseball (or) referee. If you don't know his name, he's probably doing a good job. So I think Zach performed very well and to have that operation back, the only disappointing thing, obviously and it goes for everybody, is not being able to practice those guys here together in the spring, but, again, having those guys back in the familiarity is huge for sure." What are your initial impressions of Ty Montgomery and do you plan to use him on special teams? (Coach Rizzi): "I really liked Ty coming out of college. I mean he was a guy I evaluated very diligently I guess you'd say. I really dove into his background in college and watched a lot of college tape on him. He was a guy that we had rated very highly coming out of Stanford. A guy I really watched a lot of film on him. Now having played against him and watched him perform in the league and he's a guy that does a lot of different things. He's a guy that, not only, I think he probably gets noticed mostly as a returner, but he's actually done a lot of different things. He's played on the punt team. He has played (as) a personal protector. He has played wing, has played in other spots in the punt return game other than returner. He's been on the kickoff team. So here's a guy that has got a lot of value and I think I speak for every special teams coach when I tell you you're always looking for offensive skill guys that can bring value to the special teams core positions, not necessarily the returner, but you're always looking for offensive skill guys that can bring value. So having watched him in college and having watched her now for a few years in the NFL and I am really excited to work with him." What do you think are the next steps for Deonte Harris? (Coach Rizzi): "I think I say this all the time. I think people look at me like I am crazy, but I think Deonte can actually really improve a lot. I think people will just automatically look at the numbers, his accolades, the All-Pro and Pro Bowl and all that and automatically assume that this guy has got to figure it out. I think Deonte would probably be the first guy to tell you that he has enough things to work on. If you look back at last season, which we obviously had a lot of time on our hands here to look back at a lot of things, we got off to a slow start in the return game in both punt and kick and some of that was growing pains with Deonte. He made some bad decisions early in the season. His ball security wasn't great. He made some bad decisions in terms of when to field the ball, (and) when not to field the ball. Those are things he got better at as a year went on, but I certainly think he is not a finished product yet. So I think he can actually really make some more strides. We know he has the ability, that is obviously a no- brainer. He is very dangerous with the ball in his hand, but I think now (he's) refining his return game. What I mean by that is just kind of getting better at the little things. There is just some of the decision-making, the ball security, some of the calls. We have some calls that the returner makes sometimes things like that. I think he can really improve on. I think you saw that because obviously it was trending up big time at the end of the season. So hopefully we can kind of just pick up where we left off. That's easier said than done, but here's a guy that hasn't had (a lot of experience) obviously only one year of experience in NFL return game because it's totally different than college. And so I still think there's a lot of room for growth there." Your thoughts on what you've seen from Tommy Stevens and do you see other teams using athletic QBs in other ways? (Coach Rizzi): "I'm going to let Phil (Galiano) talk on that because he knows Tommy personally a lot better than I do. I can just tell you from my perspective, watching Tommy Stevens perform as a college player. He obviously got the size, he obviously has got great speed. I know from meeting with them now on these virtual meetings, he is a very intelligent player. And so here is a guy that's got all the quote unquote tools to work with, from my perspective. To answer the second part of your question, I think you look back like Trace McSorley, of the Baltimore Ravens, or some other quarterbacks that are now, if they are not going to be maybe the starter or even the number two, a lot of teams are now kind of copycating that, because of what Taysom's (Hill) done. I think it's funny because you hear it in the draft a lot, you hear it even in our draft meetings. Can this guy do this? Can this guy do that if he's not going to be a guy, because you're always looking for jobs for that guy to do, if he's going to be around on the 53 or maybe the practice squad. So Tommy's obviously a good example of that. Phil, you can kind of take it from here cause you know Tommy a lot better than I do personal." (Coach Galiano): "Yeah, so I was fortunate enough to get to coach Tommy when he was at Penn State and I was there and at that time he was competing to be the starting quarterback. So unfortunately, I didn't get to use him on special teams at that point, because he was in quarterback battle, but he was always a guy that (was athletic), he's big, he's fast, he's physical, he's super smart. He's super tough. I always knew (he) could play special teams for us. And he's an extremely hard worker and he fits everything that we want here. So we're really excited and I'm excited to be able to get the work with him once we can get back on the field." What characteristics does J.T Gray he bring to your unit, having been selected as an All-Pro last season? (Coach Galiano): "The first thing he brings is he's extremely tough and competitive and he can run and he takes great pride in special teams and wanting to be the best. He's a guy that'll come in and he studies extra film and he knows his role and he has a plan for all his opponents. He really is a pros pro when it comes to special teams and he's a guy that has worked his way up. It wasn't like it was given to him and he's continued to work hard and he's only going to continue to get better and he's hungry and has things that he wants to prove." (Coach Rizzi): "If I could piggyback on that real quick. I was always super impressed. J.T. is a guy watched coming out of college and I thought could really perform well on special teams in the NFL. But now having worked with him for a year. Phil (Galiano) kind of hit on it. Here's a guy that you talk about and we talk about this all the time and special teams players. There's a lot of guys that come into the league and their goal isn't to be a special teams player. They want to be (or) they maybe have aspirations of being a really good defensive or offensive player. Here's a guy that not only knew his role, but embraced his role. I think there's a big difference. He embraced, and he looked at, studied other special teams players in league. I don't know if I have been around a guy that spent as much time as J.T. did during a gameweek of preparing for special teams, meaning watching the opponents, watching himself and this guy had a plan going in. So not only athletically is he gifted in all the tools he has, but he really studied. And I think he prepared himself and the sky's the limit for him. He's got an amazing ceiling for himself, meaning he sets high, high goals for himself.

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