Coming off a season in which he finished with 5.5 sacks, Keion White is ready to take the next step in his development as a player. He wasn’t shy about that when meeting with the assembled media today.

White is mature beyond his years and he has a quiet confidence about him. He is a stoned face assassin in many ways. He is all business and that demeanor has gotten the attention of Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel who seems to have an appreciation for White’s temperament and approach.

“I love Keion’s attitude. He’s a worker, he’s here early, he’s got a routine that I think has worked for him, practices hard, he’s conditioned. So, again, as we work through this and progress, – and we’re just a couple days into this – but I think Keion’s got a great attitude. I love kind of just being able to coach him. He’s very receptive to – he’s a very coachable player.”

White was very candidate when asked about Vrabel and playing for the new coach.

“My biggest working relationship is whether we’re winning or losing, so that’s big for me,” White said. “And then you just go from there. So, is he a good coach, and how can he make me better? And that’s the biggest relationship I have. Everything else will take care of itself.”

When asked what it was like playing for new Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, White talked about approach to the game and how it mirrors his.

“T brings a competitiveness to the room. He always wants to dominate. He doesn’t care if you have the pads on or not. He doesn’t want to look like yourself.”

As for the new defensive scheme and adjusting to it, White is simply taking a violent approach. He likes the idea of taking gaps, not controlling gaps.

“Leading with violence is always my type of style. So, whenever I can do that and not read as much, that’s definitely beneficial for me.”

When it comes to personal and team goals, White keeps things in perspective. He doesn’t want to look ahead because from his vantage point, the Patriots defense has not accomplished anything yet.

“I operate in doings and don’ts. We haven’t done anything yet, so therefore we aren’t anything yet.”

When Vrabel was asked if White is straightforward with him like he is with the media, Vrabel said he actually appreciate that about White.

“Yeah, I mean, I think all our – most everybody, I would imagine, are hopefully straightforward. I mean, Keion, there’s not a lot of fluff to him. I mean, our conversations are mostly – he wants to know football, he wants to talk football. That’s his profession, that’s his career, that’s his passion. So, we talk a lot of football, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.”

Sounds like the two men are on the same page and are going to get along just fine because they both have the same objective. To win games.