Ronnie Stanley likes what he sees from Andrew Vorhees as they go through their first training camp together.
Vorhees missed the 2023 season after being drafted in the seventh round, recovering from a torn ACL suffered at the NFL Combine. However, Vorhees feels fully recovered and has become the favorite to win the starting job at left guard, working side by side between left tackle Stanley and Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.
Stanley has watched Vorhees' work ethic during meetings and practices and believes the young offensive lineman is ready to start, if that's what the coaching staff decides.
"I think Andrew is great," Stanley said. "Ever since he got here, he's been a student of the game and has just been trying to learn. Even the times he couldn't really be on the field for practice, he's been in all the meetings, he's been here throughout all the offseason.
"I'm very impressed with how fast he's learning things, how fast he's getting up to the speed of the game, how good of a shape he's in. Everything is moving really fast for him, but he's also adjusting really fast, and he's getting better and better every day."
Vorhees' work ethic is no surprise. He displayed his determination at last year's Combine when he asked a doctor if he could still participate in bench press drills the day after his injury. He took a medical cart to the stage and completed 38 bench press reps, the most of anyone at last year's Combine.
The injury kept Vorhees from playing last season, but he attacked his rehab after arriving in Baltimore, went to meetings during the season, and dedicated himself to film study. Vorhees said his knee is as sound as ever, and his familiarity with Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's system is allowing him to play with confidence during training camp.
"I made the most of my last year given the situation I was in, and I couldn't be more thankful for the commitment that I put in and our coaching staff and strength staff and
training staff all put in and poured into me," Vorhees said.
"The knee feels like a million bucks. It feels better than before. I just trusted the process for the last 17, 18 months, however long it's been, and I feel like I kind of leveraged myself into a good position because of that trust."
The Ravens will have new starters at left guard, right guard and right tackle, leaving the coaching staff with important decisions to make. The way Vorhees has held his own during padded practices the past few days could make the choice at left guard easier.
"I think things are going well," Vorhees said. "I'm just going out there every day and just
trying to become the best player that I can be and just trust in [Offensive Line] Coach D (Joe D'Alessandris) and Coach Monken and the rest of the coaching staff. There's obviously a wealth of knowledge and expertise, so just trusting them every day.
"It doesn't matter the level of competition, first team, second team, playing for the local Pop Warner team, whenever you have the opportunity to go out and compete with pads on and keep a score, it's important and valuable. But yeah, I mean, it's been great, and I've been having so much fun over the last few days."
