The New England Patriots wrapped up rookie minicamp on Sunday, and their nine draftees and 12 undrafted free agents will now join the veterans on the roster.
Before fully introducing themselves to the rest of the team, five rookies who officially signed their contracts prior to Saturday’s rainy practice shared their names and fun facts with the media.
Cornerback Karon Prunty led off. The Patriots’ fifth-round pick shared that he is the youngest child in his family with five older sisters. That expectedly
created a hectic environment at times.
“Definitely got to get to the bathroom first,” Prunty said.
Two of New England’s other Day 3 picks also shared family-related updates. Seventh-round running back Jam Miller recently got engaged the day after Valentines Day. He and his fiancée, Chloe, began dating during Miller’s freshman year at Alabama.
Sixth-round offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover’s wife, Makenzie, is scheduled to deliver their baby boy on Thursday. The 6-foot-7, 318 pound Crownover said the baby is expected to weigh between eight and nine pounds based on the last scan.
While he was needed in Foxboro this past weekend for rookie minicamp, Crownover noted his wife is well taken care of back home and he plans to return to Texas soon before bringing his family to New England.
“I’ll stay for a few days and I’ll come back,” Crownover shared. “Then in about three weeks, two weeks, my wife and my son will come up and we will probably move into an apartment or something up here.”
Making that trip to New England was also a new experience for several rookies. That included sixth-round linebacker Namdi Obiazor, who did not make a pre-draft visit to Gillette Stadium.
“This is my first time in New England, Boston area,” Obiazor shared. “I’m from Minnesota so it’s kind of a little bit the same — north, just kind of east coast more than the midwest.”
Fellow seventh-round selection Behren Morton was one of the players who did visit Foxboro prior to the draft. The quarterback made the trip from Texas, where he had a standout high school career in the small town of Eastland.
“My dad was my high school head coach and we had 25 guys on our football team,” Morton said. “So I had to play both ways. Punt, kicked, played defensive end on third down. Did a lot of different stuff in high school.”
Morton, however, hasn’t volunteered his pass-rushing skills to the Patriots.
“I think we’re good right now,” he said with a laugh.
