Justin Boren joined the Ravens last season as an undrafted rookie free agent, coming to Baltimore as a long shot to the make the roster.
He ended up spending the entire regular season on the Ravens' practice squad, before getting signed to the 53-man roster for the two playoff games.
Boren now finds himself in another battle to earn his spot on the team and has made a good impression on the coaches during offseason workouts.
"Justin Boren has had an outstanding camp," Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron said after practice last week.
Boren, 6-foot-2, 325 pounds, has shuffled between center and both guard spots. He could likely end up playing a role similar to what veteran Andre Gurode did last season, serving as a backup to all three interior line positions.
"I'm going to try to be as versatile as I can to play those three positions and just work every day to get better," he said. "I'm pretty much comfortable at all three of those positions."
He's competing with rookies Kelechi Osemele and Gino Gradkowski and second-year tackle/guard Jah Reid for a roster spot and playing time. All four players could likely end up making the active roster – the Ravens finished last season with eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster – and Boren is focused on doing his part to show he belongs.
"It's great if I can impress the coaches, but I'm just trying to focus every day on doing the best that I can," he said. "It's going really well. I feel like I know the offense a lot better and feel comfortable out on the field."
Boren played all three positions during his time in college.
He started a game at right guard during his freshman year at Michigan and played center the next season. He then transferred to Ohio State after his sophomore season and played left guard during his junior and senior seasons, where he was a first-team All-Big 10 performer.
When Boren joined the Ravens, he was reunited with his former Michigan offensive line coach, Andy Moeller, which has been a boon for Boren.
"He was by far the best offensive line coach as far as learning technique that I've ever had," Boren said. "When I found out that he was the offensive line coach here, that was a huge plus, and I knew that he could get me to be the best player I could be, and he has."
As Boren and the Ravens move through the rest of the offseason, his emphasis is to continue digesting the offense and battle for a roster spot that will likely last throughout training camp.
"I just try to do the best that I can do and everything else will play itself out," Boren said. "We have a ton of great players on this team and that's the coaches' decision. I can just go out there every day and try to do my best."
