FOXBOROUGH- Khyris Tonga is a massive man at 6’2 335. It is why the Patriots signed the five year veteran this off-season. To take up space along the Patriots defensive front and add depth. Although if you ask Tonga, he is not simply here to control gaps. He is here to beat his man and take the gap in front of him. He fits the mindset of the Patriots new defensive philosophy to a tee.

“It’s all just beat your one on one, really, at the end of the day, the trenches get really ugly. So it’s whoever’s in front of you and don’t get moved.”

Tonga knows the modus operandi in the Patriots defense. It is to play aggressive and set the tone up front. He might have been a two gap plugger in his previous stops but here he is going to be expected to be disruptive and to reset the line of scrimmage. Tonga says he and his fellow defensive lineman set the tone for the defense.

“I think we just set a tone up front. If that’s a run or the pass, I think it starts up front with all of us. So for that, just us knowing that and having a chip on our shoulder and what that comes with just makes it more exciting.”

As for getting acclimated to living in New England and being a Patriot, Tonga says he has focused on getting ready for the season. He hasn’t done much thus far in the short time he has lived here.

“It’s been good. Found a place to live. Everything’s so cool here. I haven’t really been out much to eat and stuff, so I still got to cross that off my list. But when that time comes, we’re going to get it.”

It might be why Tonga was one of the team’s offseason award winners. His hard work paid off and Tonga appreciated the recognition.

“It was pretty cool. It’s an honor. But at the end of the day, we were just working. I think anybody could have gotten it, really. Everybody was working during camp, so it’s still the same. Nothing changes. We just working. So that’s all it is.”

Tonga knows that it is a fine line when it comes to sticking on an NFL roster. Especially as an interior defensive lineman who is a rotational player. He knows he has to work hard and make his snaps count if he wants to stay in the league.

“Just being here in the league, I mean, the chances of being here is already slim. We had the numbers, so it’s just being out here, it’s already a blessing. So just having a chip on your shoulder and coming out and doing what we do is. It’s that much more fun for us, though.”

So far, Tonga is doing everything he needs to do make this team. The expectation is he will and when he gets on the field, he will make a difference.