Christian Barmore, Mac Jones, Ronnie Perkins and more: What we learned about the Patriots’ rookies this summer

The New England Patriots’ draft-feature series has come to an end.

But after spending two months detailing the Patriots’ eight-player draft class, there are still tales to tell. These stories included 43 interviews that spanned 14 and a half hours of conversations, so it was impossible to include everything the first time through.

Consider what’s on this page the out-takes. Some are more involved pieces of analysis that just couldn’t find a home in that particular feature. Others are totally random anecdotes that felt like they had to be included somewhere.

So here it goes. Hope you enjoy.

See you Sooner

Bill Belichick has expanded his trust tree.

Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, one of the most successful head coaches in college football in recent years, sent his first pair of players to the Patriots during the NFL Draft. Belichick selected edge rusher Ronnie Perkins in the third round and running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the fourth.

Riley noted his bond with Belichick has grown over the years.

“We’ve got a good relationship,” Riley said. “He’s been kind enough to allow me to come out there a couple times during their OTA periods and get a chance to know their staff. I knew some guys on their staff before – (former director of college scouting) Monti Ossenfort, who was there for years, and then I’ve gotten to know Josh (McDaniels) pretty well, a couple other members of the staff. I’ve always had a lot of respect for them, and I’ve always watched from afar the way they go about their business. I’ve learned a lot from those guys. It’s been fun getting to know them. Of any organization in sports, that’s probably the one I’ve paid the closest attention to.

“They’re pretty thorough. It’s pretty easy to tell why they are as successful as they are because they’re as thorough as any team that comes through here. They certainly had interest (in Perkins and Stevenson before the draft). It wasn’t a surprise to me that they ended up drafting those two guys.”

Perkins. (Matthew Visinsky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Belichick has drafted 13 players from Nick Saban’s programs (eight from Alabama, three from LSU, two from Michigan State), seven from Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators, five from Bret Bielema (four from Arkansas, one from Wisconsin), four members of Greg Schiano’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights, four from Mark Richt (three from Georgia, one from Miami) and four from Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines, thanks to an assist from former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown.

Since Riley took over at Oklahoma in 2017, 21 Sooners have been drafted. He said the Patriots have shown plenty of interest in past prospects, and they finally got a chance to select a couple of them in this draft cycle.

“We had some conversations with those guys about these players,” Riley said. “I think we’ve had some other players in the past who they were interested in, but they just didn’t hit in the right spot or weren’t available or somebody else better was available, or whatever the case.

“I’m certainly excited. It’s been one of my favorite organizations in sports for a long time. To have a couple of our guys going that way, you know they’re going into a great place with a great leader and great people, and that always makes you feel good.”

Field day

Corky Rogers had a decades-long reputation for coaching his quarterbacks especially hard at Bolles School, and Mac Jones was no exception.

They also had a deep admiration for one another.

Saban was planning to visit Jones in Jacksonville during his senior year to ensure everything was status quo with his commitment to Alabama, and Saban presented Jones with two options: visit him at home or land his helicopter on the field at the school.

Jones opted for the latter, knowing how much Rogers would enjoy it. At the time, Rogers’ health was deteriorating due to a lengthy battle with cancer, so Jones wanted to orchestrate the helicopter landing to lift Rogers’ spirits.

“(Rogers) did appreciate it,” said Mike Barrett, the Bolles defensive coordinator. “Cork took everything in stride and didn’t want to take a lot of credit. That was a big deal for him. He really appreciated that.”

Rogers died in February 2020 at age 76.

“I wish coach Rogers were still here,” Barrett said. “He would be real proud of Mac and what he’s become.”

Complimentary tales

More scouting reports on Jones from a couple former coaches:

• Former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian: “I think it’s a lost characteristic right now in society in general, this idea of perseverance and overcoming adversity and fighting for what you want, that nothing is given. Mac is the epitome of that. He comes in third string, waits his turn – not just waits but continues to work and earn his opportunity when it came. Mac understood that he needed to develop. He put in the work to develop. He worked so when his number did get called, whether it was in mop-up duty early in his career, to being a backup, to getting forced into action through injury to becoming a full-time starter, he was prepared.

“Mac’s comfort zone was knowing everything and being physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to where he can say, now I can go play. He trusted that preparation. He knew the throws he could trust himself to make. He knew the reads. When he got the right read, he trusted his read and his progressions. He trusted his preparation from defensive alignments if he needed to check protections and runs. It was all about trusting himself in his preparation.”

Jones. (Mary Schwalm / Associated Press)

• Former Alabama offensive line coach Brent Key: “Not making a bad play worse is a sign of a really good quarterback, too. Mac understood if it’s not there, get rid of the football and live to play another play. That’s something in the maturity of a quarterback that I think really shows where they’re going.”

Under the Macroscope

The San Francisco 49ers said they’d thoroughly examine Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Jones before finalizing their decision with the No. 3 pick, and that was certainly the case.

Kevin Fagan, who was Jones’ quarterback coach at Bolles, spoke to the 49ers before the draft. That’s a pretty deep dive in the interview process.

Of course, the 49ers took Lance and claimed that was their decision all along. (Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. They have to say that either way.) At minimum, there’s no denying how much work they did on the quarterback in the class.

Perkins’ scouting report

At Lutheran North High, Perkins was one of the most coveted recruits in the nation.

Jamar Cain, who joined Oklahoma as the defensive ends/outside linebackers coach in 2020, was well aware of Perkins as a high schooler. But Cain was at North Dakota State at the time and didn’t even bother trying to recruit Perkins because he knew he would head to a Power 5 program.

“There are certain kids you know you don’t waste your time with, and Ronnie was one of those kids,” Cain laughed.

Perkins, of course, thrived at Oklahoma, and he made plays regardless of the defensive calls.

“This might be the best compliment I can give,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch began. “It was despite call. It was despite alignment. It was despite responsibility. His mindset is he’s going to make a play, and he’s going to do so with elite effort. Not one time in two years did we say, ‘These are the things we need to do to help Ronnie be successful.’ No, Ronnie is going to do what he needs to do to make us successful.”

Riley was high on Perkins’ potential with the Patriots.

“He’s a natural pass rusher,” Riley said. “He was a very athletic kid coming out (of high school). His tight end film, honestly, coming out of high school was just as good as his defensive line film. The kid is an athlete. He can win with power, but he’s got a great feel with how to use his hands. He can bend. He can accelerate. Under coach Belichick and that staff, I think this is a kid who is going to continue to get better and better.

“I’m sure they’ll find all kinds of creative ways to use him.”

Riley gave a positive review of Perkins’ personality as well.

“He had a great way of controlling the mood of the whole group,” Riley said. “He was in a lot of ways the No. 1 alpha on this football team. He had the ability to flip a switch and really impact so many others with his attitude and edge, (which) I think is very unique.

“He’s one of those guys I’d let watch my kids. But then on game day, man, he flips and turns into something different.”

More on Barmore

Here’s what a couple of Christian Barmore’s coaches said about his character and personality.

• Mike Locksley (former Alabama defensive coordinator in charge of Barmore’s recruitment): “As much as everybody liked to joke and tease him, he got into quite a bit of fights as a freshman with some of the older guys. I don’t know how many of those fights he won. Typical locker room scrums, wrestling and throwing down, nothing that would get him kicked off the team. I would always tease him like, ‘Man, for a big, tough guy, you’re 0 for 3.’ He was a good kid. He was a really aggressive kid.

“He’s a guy everybody in the locker room loved. He made people laugh. They loved when he did some dance he would do in the locker room. You’d see a big crowd around him pumping him up and egging him on to dance. A lot of the older players liked him because he was a good teammate in the locker room. He was a funny guy. He was like an old soul. People would laugh at him because he acted like an old soul.”

• Dwayne Thomas (Neumann Goretti High School defensive coordinator): “This is Philadelphia, man. There’s a lot of crap that kids can get involved with that’s not good. Parents who are strong, they keep their kids close and in the house, away from the streets. That’s how Chris was – a homebody mama’s boy.”

Thomas said he was once asked why they didn’t play Barmore at defensive end, rather than defensive tackle.

“In high school, they can run away from you at defensive end,” Thomas said. “I put him in the middle of the defense, and now you can’t run away from him. He had an excellent get-off. He got his hands on an offensive (lineman) quickly. It was just not what regular, normal defensive linemen could do. You could tell he was special.”

Albie Crosby, the head coach at Neumann Goretti, relayed a story to show Barmore’s competitive side. Barmore and offensive lineman Justin Johnson, who went to Oregon, would always go head to head on and off the field due to their sizes.

“We called him Big Fresh,” Crosby said of Johnson. “Big Fresh is 6-foot-8, 340 (pounds). He was polished. He knew the game. We would have him and Christian go one-on-one at times. It wouldn’t all be football. It’d be tug-of-wars, tire pulls. One time, we were at a gym doing an offseason workout, and they had a tug-of-war. Christian slipped. Fresh pulled him. For everyone else doing this drill, it was competitive, but it was fun. Not for (Barmore). He’s like, ‘Man, get back with this thing! Me and you! Me and you!’ We’re like, ‘Chris, relax.’ He’s like, ‘No, we’re not leaving this gym until I beat him!’ They’re great friends, but their competitive rivalry went to the field. He had a saying that when he beat somebody, he would turn around and scream, ‘He’s just a baby! He’s just a baby!’ The first time he beat Fresh, he said that and we all started dying laughing.”

Special contributions

Stevenson’s willingness to contribute on special teams has already drawn plenty of attention. Here’s more.

• Oklahoma running backs coach DeMarco Murray: “He loves going on kickoff. First game back (from suspension in 2020), he was on kickoff. He was begging me to go in. After seeing him run the ball about 10 times, I got with Lincoln (Riley). I go, ‘Hey, get this guy the hell off special teams. He’s a starter for the rest of the year.’ He’s a hungry guy. He loves special teams, loves kickoff. He’s an extremely gifted player.

“You have to love special teams. I always tell guys, playing in the NFL, I had a lot of respect for guys who played special teams because it was want-to. It was grit. It was grind. He has that kind of mindset. I think he knows that for him to be able to make the team, early on, it’s going to be through special teams. I think when he does get his opportunity to play running back, he won’t look back.”

Stevenson. (Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)

• Former Oklahoma running backs coach Jay Boulware: “He was a phenomenal coverage guy on the kickoff team his first year (in 2019). I had to take him off it at the end of the year. He was so stinking good. And he didn’t even want to come off. That unselfishness and willingness to play no matter what told me everything I need to know about Rhamondre Stevenson.”

Of course, the Patriots didn’t draft Stevenson to just be a special teamer. Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch turned into a fan when Stevenson and the offense were on the field.

“In games where we have to make a play to continue drives, or we’re trying to milk clock at the end of games, or we’re near the goal line, or it’s third-and-short, whatever is, as a defensive coach, you turn into a fan real quick,” Grinch said. “I don’t get to call plays, and I wouldn’t do nearly as good of a job as Lincoln Riley, either. All I’m thinking in my head is give it to Rhamondre. He’s certainly a talented guy.”

Words of encouragement

UCF wide receiver Jaylon Robinson noted the way Tre Nixon was his mentor during the feature story, but one anecdote was left on the cutting room floor.

Robinson had three drops one day in practice, and he was beating himself up over it. They were in a competitive period against the starting defense when Nixon built him back up over on the sideline.

“I know it’s practice, but he preached that we practice how you play,” Robinson said. “I went out there and had two catches and a long touchdown. He ran to the end zone jumping on me and told me, ‘I told you. I told you. Nobody can guard you.’ I feel like there aren’t a lot of people in this world who will go out of their way to help you or give you that extra info. He’s just a real person, a real positive person, and he doesn’t care about just himself.”

Heavy sleeper

Michigan linebacker Josh Ross was set to have a dorm room to himself when roommate Drew Singleton transferred to Rutgers. He pushed the beds together, redesigned a couple other things and admired the extra space before walking out the door.

That’s when he encountered Cameron McGrone in the hallway, smiling ear to ear, holding a blue bin with all of his stuff and ready to move in with Ross.

Ross shared his favorite story of their time as roommates. One day when McGrone was asleep, Ross microwaved a leftover sandwich without realizing there was tinfoil in the box.

“I’m like, oh my god,” Ross laughed. “I opened it, and it caught on fire – the food, the whole microwave on the inside. I grabbed the food that was on fire, threw it on the ground, stomping it out, and Cam is right next to me asleep. Like 30 minutes after that, I’m like, bro, that’s crazy. I almost burned this place down. He woke up, and I told him. He’s like, ‘Are you serious?’ He slept through the whole thing. I’m having a whole panic attack. He’s crying laughing.”

Risk-reward injury dynamic

It’s possible both McGrone and Nixon become late-round steals, as injuries thwarted their draft stock.

It’s also possible the injuries continue to be part of their story, and they were drafted in appropriate spots as a result.

Prior to the 2020 season, agents told Will Patterson – McGrone’s linebackers coach at Lawrence Central High – that he was tracking to become a second-round pick. McGrone then tore his left ACL in November and understandably slid to the fifth round.

Glass half full, the Patriots made a long-term investment and hope to hit on that higher-round value once McGrone is healthy. Glass half empty, McGrone also tore his right ACL in high school and suffered a hamstring injury that derailed his freshman year at Michigan, so injuries have followed him.

UCF wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt, who has coached the position for three decades and sent numerous players to the NFL, strongly said Nixon wouldn’t have fallen past the third round if he didn’t break his collarbone in the 2020 season opener. The speedy Nixon is fully healed, but the injury sabotaged his chance to put up monster numbers.

Glass half full, Nixon makes the team as a rookie and far exceeds his seventh-round value. Glass half empty, Nixon also broke his sternum in a 2016 practice at Ole Miss and is going to continue to take these same types of hits against bigger, faster defenders to be successful in the NFL.

There’s no denying McGrone and Nixon are more talented than their draft slots, so the Patriots may certainly be onto something with each player. They’ll just need better fortune on the injury front to make that happen.

Friday night lights

Will Sherman went to Allen High School, one of the most prestigious programs in Texas.

So what does football mean to the Allen community?

• Former Allen head coach Terry Gambill: “It’s important. It’s a way of life. It’s the one thing that will bring communities together on Friday nights. You’re talking about bringing an entire community together. You’ve got the drill team, the band, cheerleaders – everybody is involved, and it’s the sport that brings everybody together. No other sport can do what football does for our kids, and it’s a great teaching tool. At Allen, we always viewed it as this: We’re never going to play a bad football game. Just like, if I asked you if you ever had a bad day, no you haven’t. You’ve had a bad moment. That’s a bad play. Let’s go. Forget it. Move on. That’s the way life is. That’s what I love about the game of football, and that’s what I love about Will. Will was not a pouter. Just move on. You’re not going to be perfect. You’re not going to play a perfect game, but you’re not going to have a bad game. That’s what high school football does down here in Texas. That’s why everybody loves it. It’s just a way of life. Friday nights are going to be about high school football because it brings the community together.”

• Former Allen offensive line coach Preston Gill: “It’s everything. Allen has 6,000 kids, but the community still acts like it’s a small school as far as people shut down stores and come to the games on Friday nights. Season tickets are sold out. The stadium holds 18,000, but they pack 20,000 in there on a Friday night. It’s everything. From middle school, those kids want to be an Allen Eagle. They want to be there on Friday night. It is the deal. It’s everything to the city of Allen.”

(Top photo of Barmore, wearing No. 51: Kathryn Riley / Getty Images)