Vincent Rey "Penciled In" As Thomas Howard's Backup At WILL Linebacker

The linebacker personnel is set this season with Thomas Howard, Rey Maualuga, Manny Lawson, Roddrick Muckelroy, Dontay Moch and Dan Skuta, among others. According to Geoff Hobson with Bengals.com, Vincent Rey is currently "penciled in" as the team's backup WILL linebacker, behind Thomas Howard. With the NFL draft approaching, along with OTAs, minicamps and training camp, that could change at a moment's notice.

This off-season, Rey returned to his alma-mater Duke University to workout and happened to be there on the day of the infamous Manning-gate workout video release. This would normally be no big deal, just another workout, you know? But when you are going up against of the all-time greats like Peyton Manning and having to defend players like Dallas Clark, it is anything but a normal day of training.

Rey finished fifth last year with nine special teams tackles, considered a consistent and a solid performer, but going into his second full season with the Bengals, his workout with Manning gave him some confidence about his abilities on the defensive side of the ball writes Hobson.

"When you see yourself going against the very best, I think that helps you mentally," Rey said. "He got me sometimes and sometimes I got him."

When it comes to being a professional athlete, confidence in your abilities holds a significant role in your performance. If one of the team's starting linebackers, Howard in this context, the team has a solid backup in Rey. If not then the third-year linebacker maintains that confidence and directs it towards his special teams responsibilities. For the Bengals, it is a win-win situation.

At the very least, if Rey gets any playing time at linebackers this year, he knows that he won't go up against a better quarterback all year. Confidence is everything and you can never have enough of it, even if you are a backup linebacker in the NFL.