INDIANAPOLIS — Bogged down by the stress of a midterm paper, UCLA extensive receiver Kyle Phillips pushed himself away from a desk inside his staff’s facility, unfolded his wiry 5-foot-11 body as he stood up and headed into the hallway for refuge.
Instead, he discovered Bill Belichick.
Belichick, who was housing the Patriots at UCLA between back-to-back video games throughout a 2020 West Coast street journey, walked with Bruins head coach Chip Kelly, who launched them. Shaking off sudden shock, Phillips prolonged his hand, just a few phrases after which rapidly parted methods. While his paper remained unfinished behind him, Philips raced forward to inform his teammates concerning the encounter, the pull of soccer endlessly stronger than faculty.
A 12 months later, the Patriots handed Phillips a check of their very own on the East-West Shrine sport, an annual showcase for projected late-round picks and occasional fringe prospects. A scout pressed him on just a few of UCLA’s passing performs , not solely his routes, however his teammates’ duties. Phillips says he aced it.
(No doubt it helped Kelly had put in just a few of the Patriots’ performs that season.)
Phillips isn’t the one prospect the Pats have been testing these days. In reality, the Patriots have been busy interviewing a number of extensive receivers this week, together with a number of potential first-round picks. Arkansas star Treylon Burks, Alabama’s Jameson Williams and Ohio State starter Chris Olave all mentioned Wednesday they’ve met with staff brass.
But with whom precisely?
Bill Belichick is just not but on the NFL mix, per a supply, and neither is the core of the defensive workers. The Patriots’ preliminary mix contingent consists primarily of front-office members, together with advisor Eliot Wolf and a number of scouts. In the previous, low-level offensive assistants have helped conduct interviews, together with present working backs coach Vinnie Sunseri and assistant extensive receivers coach Troy Brown.
Alabama extensive receiver Slade Bolden, a late-round slot possibility like Phillips, talked about assembly “player operations for the Patriots,” probably director of participant operations and engagement Chris Mattes, who additionally traveled to Indianapolis.
The variety of the staff’s questions up to now has mirrored a singular interview plan for every prospect. Take Nevada’s Romeo Doubs, who says he’s spoken completely with the Pats about his background.
“I think it was one of my best (interviews), being able to connect with those guys really well,” mentioned Doubs, who additionally met with the staff on the Senior Bowl. “I spoke with them again during informal interviews, and I thought it was a great interview with them. Just checking up on me, getting to know me as a person.”
Doubs performed in a famously simplistic offense at Nevada, the Air Raid, which regularly duties receivers with merely “finding grass.” Naturally, there weren’t as many Xs and Os for the Patriots to cowl with Doubs, a lanky, 6-foot-2 speedster, who confessed there wasn’t a single onerous a part of studying the system.
Then there’s Olave and Williams, who shared their interviews have been cut up between movie work and private questions. Williams can be recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in January, an damage which may assist him fall into the Patriots’ lap at twenty first general.
“Really it was just a formal meeting asking about me, watching film and just going over defenses and going over plays,” he mentioned. “Just really casual.”
Olave mentioned he answered “deeper questions,” however wouldn’t reveal any specifics. Smart transfer for a possible future Patriot.
“They asked me a lot about my background. … It was a great meeting overall, watched a little bit of film, and I enjoyed it,” he mentioned.
Though the Patriots aren’t visiting with each wideout. Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, a well-liked mock-draft decide at No. 21 like Olave, mentioned he’s but to interview with them. The similar holds true for Virginia Tech’s Tre Turner and Ole Miss’ Dontario Drummond, each projected late-round picks.
In the second spherical, Kentucky’s Wan’Dale Robinson represents one other potential goal. He’s electrical over the center and after the catch, a 5-foot-9 water bug who skitters by means of visitors and zippers previous defenders. If the Patriots are really all in favour of Robinson, they aren’t disguising their intentions.
“That was my one formal interview,” Robinson mentioned. “(Bill Belichick) wasn’t there, but it was a really good interview; just going over some film, different ways I can be used in the offense and things like that.”
On the other finish of the bodily spectrum, Burks, at a rock-solid 6-foot-3 and 225 kilos, is one other multi-dimensional possibility who rushed, obtained and even took Wildcat snaps in faculty. But he indicated his interview with the Patriots had him on edge; one other check for one more prospect hoping a passing grade means he’ll quickly be a prime draft decide.
“It was really intense just knowing that you’re in a meeting with the Patriots,” Burks mentioned. “Their organization is held to a high standard. I just went in there and took it on like a man.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com