Ross Ventrone

Ross Ventrone is a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ventrone was signed by the New England Patriots as a rookie free agent on April 29, 2010. Ventrone has become famous for being repeatedly released and re-signed by the Patriots, either to the active roster or the practice squad. As of September 2012, the Patriots had signed, promoted, or released him 29 times. Ventrone was a three year starter at Villanova after transferring from Pittsburgh where he began his college career as a walk-on. After being redshirted as a freshman in 2005, he worked on the scout team in 2006 before landing a scholarship at Villanova. Pretty amazing accomplishment for a kid that only played one year of high school football.

Ventrone was the leader of a secondary that was one of the best in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2009. He registered 73 tackles including 53 solo stops and had 6.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. Ventrone ended his three-year career with the Wildcats with 198 tackles and had a team-high four interceptions in 2008. Football in his bloodline, his older brother Ray is a safety with the San Francisco 49ers. In 2011, Ventrone played in eight games: Week 3 against the Buffalo, Weeks 6 and 8 against the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, and in both games against the New York Jets. He played primarily on special teams, but did play on defense in the Patriots’ Week 10 game against the Jets.