Vera Nieuwenhuis/AP
FOXBOROUGH – Sitting at his locker to the right of the offensive linemen, Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and C.J. Dupree, Jack Westover quietly puts his stuff on every day and walks out to practice, rarely approached by anyone in the media other than a pleasant hello.
So, his surprise when I asked him for a minute or two of his time this week was understandable.
It turned into about six minutes and during each one of them, you could feel how much appreciation Westover has to be in the position he’s currently in. He’s not a New England household name at fullback like the days of Sam Gash, Marc Edwards, Heath Evans, James Develin or Jakob Johnson just yet, but his teammates and coaches certainly appreciate what he’s brought to the table.
He’s an underrated part of the success on offense this season.
Westover – a tight end turned fullback – may not be the pass catching threat that guys like Develin or Johnson were, but his toughness and balls-to-the-wall approach is greatly valued.
“Every O-lineman loves a fullback,” center Garrett Bradbury said with a laugh when I asked him about Westover. “He’s done a great job. It’s not the rout he intended for his career, he’s a tight end, basketball player. The need presented itself and kind of threw him in to do a few things and they liked what they saw.
“He’s what you want in a professional. He comes to work, does his job, doesn’t care for any credit. Just a great teammate.”
That professionalism often comes from a sense of desperation. Westover’s ‘whatever it takes’ mindset is what’s gotten him to this point.
“I didn’t really know what I’d be,” Westover said. “I was playing mostly tight end, did a little bit of fullback stuff and then as camp went along, kind of just every day, more…had some opportunities during camp, some guys needed rest and all that. Just kind of took off from there.”
What’s impressed Bradbury, running backs coach Tony Dews and the rest of the team the most is Westover’s willingness to bring a certain level of physicality needed, especially now in January.
“His job…sometimes he’s lined up four yards in the backfield and he’s leading on a Mike linebacker that’s four yards off the ball too. That’s an eight-yard, running start collision,” Bradbury said. “It’s not always like, the highlight big blocks, but you hear them at the line of scrimmage. You hear when that fullback and that linebacker meet in the A gap. That’s some of the dirty work that doesn’t get talked about, but it’s important.”
“The fullback is kind of an offensive lineman, in the same thought of an offensive linemen,” Dews said. “They do a lot of dirty work that sometimes, doesn’t get noticed until something bad happens. Well, that toughness, that physical mentality, the willingness to do whatever he’s asked to do, whatever it takes for us to be successful. Jack is an awesome human being. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid that does everything he’s asked to do, loves the team.
“He goes out there and he’ll sacrifice his body. He’s just a worker. He’s an extremely hard worker. He hangs on every word Thomas (Brown) and Josh (McDaniels), hangs on their every word and then our guys in the backfield love him, because they know he’s going to lay it on the line every time he goes out there.”
Speaking of the running backs, Henderson immediately lit up when I told him I was doing a story on Westover.
“I appreciate him a lot,” Henderson said. “His toughness and courage man, that’s not an easy position. He’s hard-nosed and you’ve got to be willing to stick your nose in there for the love of your teammates. You just see that in Jack Westover, man. He has so much courage…just, that toughness and that courage, as a running back we’ve got to have that too. We’re in the trenches as well. But, those guys man, though do a lot of the dirty work man. They take care of us.
“I feel like he’s earned a lot of respect from this organization. His style of play is what this place is built on, it’s toughness.”
“It makes it a lot easier,” Westover said of Henderson and Stevenson. “Those guys can set up blocks and stuff, that’s the name of the game. That’s what makes a great running back great. These guys are able to set you up well. It’s been easy.”
Leading the way for those guys may be ‘easy’ sometimes, but Westover isn’t looking for them to make him look good. Since camp, it’s always been about earning the respect of the locker room…and keeping a job.
“I think as a teammate, as a player, you always want to earn the respect of your teammates. So, that’s usually how it’s earned, just being physical, doing the job that maybe, a lot of guys wouldn’t want to do,”he said. “So, yeah, that’s always what you want as a teammate is to earn the guys’ respect.”
As for the legendary fullbacks mentioned above and Westover not quite being in their category just yet, there’s one guy in particular Westover has gotten very familiar with in an effort to dig even deeper into his role within the McDaniels offense.
“Yeah, I watched a lot of Develin and briefly met him a couple times,” Westover explained. “He’s kind of reached out a couple of times and I’ve watched a ton of him because it’s somewhat more recent. I can put a face to the name and stuff, so yeah I’ve watched a ton of (Develin) and learned a lot.”
Westover has certainly enjoyed some of the creative ways McDaniels has moved him around as well, not always being in ‘car crash’ situations.
“It’s just the versatility,” he said when asked what the most enjoyable part has been. “Just, being able to put me everywhere on the field and be utilized…there’s been various games this year where I’ve been used everywhere. That’s been fun. I’m used to playing both positions, but it’s definitely nice to be at the point of attack when the ball’s getting ran behind you.
“I like that a lot. It’s been good.”
Getting to watch Drake Maye grow into the true face of the franchise from just a few feet away has been quite an added bonus to all of this.
“It’s great. He’s a great leader. It just comes so naturally to him,” Westover said with a smile. “It’s not forced. It’s not fake or anything. It comes naturally and you can feel that out there. It’s been awesome.”
While everyone would love to see a big man touchdown from Khyiris Tonga at fullback, Westover could be a nice wrinkle or surprise if the opportunity ever presents itself around the goal line, whether this Sunday or (hopefully) next week in the AFC Championship. Maybe, even on February 8.
Westover hasn’t lobbied for anything, but he’s certainly earned the moment and deserves his share of credit for where the Patriots are.
“When my number’s called I’ll do it,” Westover added. “I got a couple (carries) in college, but we’ll work our way there…I think in the offseason, we were getting to know each other and then as you’re building through camp, you’re still not sure yet. I think…even Week 1, you felt this team was super connected. Whatever the results were, they were, we still felt connected as a team and we still felt we were putting good stuff on tape.
“It’s been really cool seeing this all come together. I think we’ve learned a lot this year and we’ve learned from the bad plays. It’s been awesome.”
