For those wanting to see Kentrell Brice back in action for his second season, football can't come soon enough.

He's reportedly taken a huge step in terms of his traditional safety ability over the off-season according to several of his teammates as well as members of the coaching staff. One of them being head coach Mike McCarthy, who had some high praise for the undrafted safety earlier this week.

"His command is exceptional compared to last year," McCarthy said. "He's really speaking up. At the safety position particularly, but all of those different positions that those guys play because a number of our safeties play multiple positions. Communication is critical. You can see the confidence, the assertiveness. He's so much more comfortable back there."

Brice earned an increase in playing time down the late-season stretch in 2016 and through the playoffs, gaining the national spotlight after delivering a crushing hit to Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley in the NFC Divisional game.

_{Brice obliterating Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley in January's NFC Divisional game. (Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)}

While the coverage aspect of his arsenal left much to be desired, there was something about Brice's demeanor on the field. Something that showed he was capable of sticking around and helping add to the now-potent safety depth on the back end of their defense.

It's because of Morgan Burnett's almost exclusive move to inside linebacker in certain packages that Brice will see more work at safety in the upcoming campaign. He outlines a group that McCarthy deems as fine of a group as he's seen in his 20-plus years of coaching in the NFL, and rightfully so.

Special teams coordinator Ron Zook even had good things to say of Brice, who played more snaps on special teams (297) than he did on defense (261) in 2016. If his role increases under Zook in his second year, Brice's value would skyrocket and turn him into far more of an asset than he's already becoming.

With his natural tackling prowess and innate ability to lay a big hit on the opposition, Brice moving into a gunner role on punt coverage isn't out of the equation either.

"Not everybody tackles the same way," Zook says. You watch No. 29, he's a striker. He may not be as big as some of 'em, but when he hits you, he hits you. He brings it from his heels and toes. I think that's a knack that some guys have."

However, for now, Brice resides under safeties coach Darren Perry. It's safe to expect his 261 defensive snaps from a season ago to rise drastically, even with the Packers drafting hybrid safety Josh Jones in April's draft. 

Early indications based off of how the Packers have practiced in training camp is that Burnett will be the inside linebacker in the 3-4 base defense. That'd employ Brice into more opportunities at safety opposite Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. If Brice can make a jump, which McCarthy says he's already done this off-season, he can prove as somewhat of a modern-day Chuck Cecil with his vigorous playing style.

A big step for safeties coming into the league from what Perry has seen is that they aren't so much vocal in their first year as they are in their second. He recalled the likes of Nick Collins and even Clinton-Dix three seasons ago holding themselves back before blooming in their sophomore seasons. 

"Once they get comfortable with the scheme, they become louder," Perry said. "They become a little bit more sure of themselves, and that's the thing that you see with Kentrell [Brice]. It's kind of neat because you see young guys growing, not only as football players but as men."

With Brice's growth as a player comes the benefit of versatility and the freedom to plug various players into multiple positions defensively. A concept that the Packers could've used a season ago while they finished their regular season with five safeties on the field against the Lions.

"He still has ways to go, no doubt about that. But just the growth and where he's picked up from last year, it's light years."