FOXBOROUGH - It was a little bit of dejavu on Friday afternoon in the field house behind Gillette Stadium.
There was Jack Conley, getting ready to lead off a drill at Patriots rookie minicamp and a few feet away was Doug Marrone, whistle in mouth, ready to go.The only difference is Josh McDaniels was a few feet to the other side and Will Campbell had all eyes on him.
Conley seemingly fit right in, working alongside and against Campbell and others often under the close eye of Marrone, McDaniels, Vrabel and others. He was certainly the tallest guy in the group, that's for sure.
The Pats were kind enough to give me a few minutes with him and Merrimack O-lineman Cole Birdow - who participated in BC's Pro Day - for the story on NEFJ (in the forum if you missed it).
Here's everything Conley had to say:
On building a relationship with Birdow the last month or so
“Yeah, we were al Local Day together and we did Pro Day together, so definitely. 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.”
On Will Campbell on and off the field
“From what we’ve seen, he’s a great dude. Good leader, really nice guy, smart guy, tough, really talented…just a good guy to be around.”
On ending up with the Patriots of all teams
"There’s definitely some different situations that could have happened that didn’t happen and I’m just super happy to be here right now, apart of this organization and I’ll help out in any way I can."
On if he's talked to Bill O'Brien since signing with New England
"“It’s been a pretty wild past couple of weeks, so we haven’t had a chance to talk, but I’m sure I’m definitely going to pick his brain a little bit about everything. He’s so familiar with (the Patriots) and besides that, like I’ve said in the past, he’s an amazing football mind. He’s a genius when it comes to football, so just trying to be a sponge around a guy like that. He’s really valuable and there’s a lot of people in this building like that too.”
On keeping in touch with Ozzy Trapilo and Drew Kendall
"We've actually been working out together. They seem like they're doing great. Drew had minicamp last week. Ozzy's in Chicago this weekend. Yeah, just super excited for them. They deserve it. They're some of the best guys I know."
