Newest Patriots receive a handful of lessons

FOXBOROUGH -- Bill Belichick put his hands on the player's helmet. He turned it left. Then right. Then back to the left again.

Therapy for a sore neck, it wasn't. Instead, it was a perfect snapshot of what took place yesterday during the first day of Patriots rookie minicamp: hands-on coaching.

When Belichick covered the crown of the silver helmet on Oscar Lua's head, he was explaining a characteristic of the team's pass defense. Lua needed to turn his head to find a receiver, then turn it again to find where he needed to provide help, then turn back to locate the receiver he was responsible for.

For Lua, a seventh-round draft choice out of Southern Cal, it was almost like learning a new language.

"That's very different," he said. "In all the defenses I've run before, I really don't look around. I have a specific objective, a specific drop, and I have to get there and do it. It's a bit odd [here], but that's the whole process of learning the system and adapting to it."

That learning and adapting officially began at the Dana Farber Field House behind Gillette Stadium, as nine draft choices, six free agents, and four players on tryouts were drilled by the Patriots' 14-man coaching staff on everything from defensive technique to stretching. The players wore shorts, jerseys, and helmets, with no contact allowed.

Belichick said it was like "starting from scratch," and since there weren't enough bodies for full-team work, much of the teaching was through positional drills.

Lua was one of the players to receive hands-on coaching from Belichick, who at one point stayed with the linebackers as other positional drills were taking place. It was a bit intimidating for the 23-year-old Lua, who hails from Indio, Calif., and never had been to New England.

"Coach Belichick is an imposing figure right now," he said. "We're all kind of nervous."

Lua said he'll probably have similar nerves when veteran Patriots players join the mix, too. He long has admired Junior Seau, who remains a free agent but could return to the Patriots, and believes he can learn a lot from watching fellow linebackers Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Rosevelt Colvin, and Adalius Thomas.

With the depth at linebacker a bit thin, Lua, who was the only inside linebacker drafted by the Patriots this year, figures to be a player to watch. Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli saw a potential fit for Lua in the middle of the 3-4 alignment when they selected him 211th overall, the first pick of the seventh round.

"I thought he did a good job playing in the running game," Belichick said. "He's strong. He's physical. He has some experience in pass coverage.

"They run a good system out there and he's had a lot of exposure to a number of things that we do. I know there's a difference, but he did it at a good, competitive level at USC."

Lua, who was a roommate of current Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu for two years at USC, said he isn't interested in looking back on his college career. His main focus is adapting to the Patriots' way, such as understanding that if he shows up on time for a meeting, he's actually late.

"If you're early around here, you're on time," he said.

It's one of many things he absorbed in his first day on the job.

"At this particular point, everybody is just scratching the surface," he said. "Coming from 'SC, we had a motto: 'Compete.' That seems to transcend here as well. So I just want to tailor my game and compete for a job."

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com