FOXBOROUGH – The first Patriots rookie minicamp practice on Friday was a bit of a New England college showcase.
No matter where you looked on the field inside the Win Waste Innovations Field House, you could pick out a player representing the local scene one way or another.
BC’s Jack Conley and Merrimack’s Cole Birdow both got plenty of work with new offensive line coach Doug Marrone, first round pick Will Campbell, Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel throughout the hour-ish practice. Conley of course played for Marrone with the Eagles last season and has been going through the pre-draft process with Birdow at times. Those two were officially announced as UDFA signings earlier in the day.
“Yeah, we were al Local Day together and we did Pro Day together, so definitely,” Conely said about building a bond with Birdow as two New England guys. “It’s been good. Just trying to find a role on the team and help out however I can best. Just try to carve my way into this and help out wherever I can.”
“Yeah, we were already familiar, so we’ve known each other for a while now,” Birdow added. “I’m gaining every bit of knowledge I can and trying to contribute to the team the best way possible.”
Bentley safety Sal Lupoli, Endicott linebacker Hector Johnson, Oakdale, CT native and defensive tackle Pene Wilfried and Brown quarterback Jake Wilcox were all getting their first opportunities as well, but on ‘tryout’ deals.
While there wasn’t much ‘team’ action given the get-your-feet-wet nature of rookie minicamp, Wilcox made some great throws during a few basic offensive drills in a modified 7-on-7 look. Two in particular were just out of the reach of tight coverage underneath, resulting in would-be chain-moving type of plays.
“I think that these tryouts, again, it’s a local player looking for an opportunity,” Mike Vrabel said earlier in the morning when asked specifically about Wilcox. “We’re excited to be able to offer him that, just like we brought in Hector [Johnson] from Endicott. We’ll give him every opportunity to compete, to throw. It’s an extra arm. He got the same amount of walkthrough reps that Ben [Wooldridge] did, so he’ll come out there today and try to take the meetings to the field and the walkthrough to the field.”
On defense, Lupoili looked like a bit of a natural at free safety and moved pretty fluently.
Non-locals that stood out included tight end CJ Dipper (Alabama), who is a large human and was impressive during both indy period and the light team work. Washington State wide receiver Kyle Willaims’ speed was already evident too. The ‘Mr. Irrelvant’ draft pick Kobee Minor also showed his speed off a little bit, particularly sideline-to-sideline. Woodbridge is a very big presence at QB and had a pretty good arm.
It’s one day and many of the players that were practicing on Friday probably won’t be in the building in a month or so, but the future does appear bright for now. Both staff and players.
Especially with some New England guys possibly contributing to that future as well.
