Rookies get surprise pep talk

FOXBOROUGH - Where was globe-trotting quarterback Tom Brady yesterday - Paris, Milan, New York, Tahiti? Fret not fans, the reigning league MVP was in Foxborough.

On the first day of rookie minicamp, Brady, who was working out at Gillette Stadium, addressed a few new teammates in the training room, according to rookie outside linebacker Shawn Crable, a fellow Michigan alum.

"He just got done working out, and he came in to speak to us," said Crable. "He just gave us some advice. You know, things that he had done in the eight or nine years he'd been here, as far as taking care of your body and doing things like that.

"He was talking to everybody who wanted to listen . . . just brief stuff that you can learn if you pay attention."

One rookie planning to pay plenty of attention is quarterback Kevin O'Connell, who was a third-round pick, chosen 94th. Still sounding awestruck, O'Connell said he couldn't wait to watch Brady day in and day out.

"I just want to be a sponge around him," he said.

Brady did not participate in the minicamp practices. O'Connell was the only QB, which meant he got all the repetitions and a lot of attention from offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels spent one-on-one time working on O'Connell's footwork on his dropbacks from under center. O'Connell took a lot of snaps out of the shotgun at San Diego State.

"With the new terminology on offense, I think he wants me to still focus on the fundamentals and stuff each and every play," said O'Connell, who showcased a strong but sporadically accurate arm. "That's what I have to do on top of learning the terminology and the plays to try to be successful and get something out of this weekend."

Slater does it all

It was easy to see why the Patriots drafted wide receiver Matthew Slater, the son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jackie Slater. The younger Slater's versatility was on display. He went through positional drills with the wide receivers, flashed his All-Pacific-10 skills as a kick returner, and lined up as a safety in seven-on-seven drills, making a one-handed interception of a deflected pass in the morning session.

All in a day's work for Slater, a fifth-round pick, who bounced from position to position at UCLA. Slater said Patriots coaches told him to be prepared to practice all three phases of the game.

"Over the years with the way my career went at UCLA, you kind of had to be flexible and fill in as needed and that's what I'm here to do," he said. "Whatever they want to put me at I'm going to put my best foot forward and work hard and learn and just continue to get better each and every day."

When asked if having receiver's hands helped him on the interception, he said with a chuckle, "I guess it did."

Big adjustment

First-round pick Jerod Mayo, who played both inside linebacker spots during the practices, acknowledged the Patriots' defensive scheme is more complex than what he's used to.

"There definitely is [a lot more to learn]," he said. "There are a lot of adjustments. It's a very complex system, so I just have to go to meetings every day and get better."

Mayo added, "It is complicated, but I'm willing to learn everything that I need to know to get on the field, and the coaches do an excellent job teaching."

Learning curve

Crable revealed the linebackers - who included Mayo, sixth-round pick Bo Ruud, and undrafted free agents Gary Guyton and Vince Redd - spent Thursday night in the hotel cramming with the playbook. Crable said the group had to call the coaches because they didn't understand what they were trying to learn.

Bill Belichick said that's fine by him. "That's what we get paid to do," he said. "We get paid to coach the players. We don't have the alumni functions and recruiting, and golf tournaments and all that. We coach the players, that's what we are here for."

Giving it a go

In addition to the 11 undrafted free agents listed on the Patriots' rookie minicamp roster, there were nine players at camp on a tryout basis. The team did not release a list of the tryout players, all of whom play on offense, except punter Michael Dragosavich of North Dakota State.

"These guys are all here for a reason," said Belichick. "They have all done something. We take a combination of the information that we know about them, what we have seen them do on film, and combine it with what we have seen them do on the field and in the classroom. Then we make a decision."

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.