Tress Way is in a big competition this training camp.
No, Way is not in danger of losing his job as punter. However, the veteran of 145 Washington regular season games is heavily involved in the battle for place kicker.
Way is the holder on extra points and field goal attempts; thus Way is holding for both Joey Slye and Michael Badgley in the battle for the kicker roster spot.
This also involves long snapper Camaron Cheeseman. Way conveyed Friday that Cheeseman is working hard at his game as well.
“He’s been working on this grip and man, he’s throwing nails, but that hardest transition is into those team periods and preseason. We were talking about it after because, I mean, that dude works his tail off, and it’s been bugging him. And I was like, man, that’s the ultimate time to just trust yourself; you gotta do it like you gotta go out there, the team situations and preseason games because it’s ultimately the way to go. He has been snapping great.”
Way talked of how Cheeseman is not relaxing but is working to develop more of his skill set. He referred to last season:
“He was snapping good, he just didn’t really like his rotation. And me being the holder, I was like, yeah, man, I’d really like a perfect spiral too; that’d be nice to catch. And so, he’s just working on it and made that change this summer.”
Back to the kicking competition. If both are to perform at their very best throughout training camp, then it is also up to the holder (Way) to not only make a clean catch of the snap, but get the ball down with the particular preference of each kicker.
“The biggest thing is just remembering their tilts. Every kicker with their swing plane and how they position their foot; they like the ball and different tilts. And then, ultimately, it’s just kind of kind of fun being the middleman. Like I feel the snap from Cheese, and I’m trying to give these guys the best opportunity. I mean, dude, those specialist competitions, they’re no joke.”
Way was then asked about the difference in the preferences of the two kickers competing for the job.
“Joey likes his ball a little bit more forward, and he kind of has this swing plane where, I mean, it’s really beautiful to watch. He kind of comes up and through and goes through the entire ball, and Badge is kinda more like that old school style where it’s a little bit tilted to the side but straight up and down in terms of depth, and he just comes sweeping through.”
One thing Way made abundantly clear is that he wants no part of kickoffs. He is leaving that to the winner of the battle between Slye and Badgley.