QB O'Connell ready to watch and learn
Don't worry, Tom Brady's job isn't in jeopardy. He can keep jet-setting with Gisele Bundchen if he wants, but Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez might want to make sure they're getting the most out of the Patriots' offseason program because they now have some competition at quarterback.
Quarterback is the last position one would expect a team that has a future Hall of Famer and the reigning NFL MVP in Brady to address in the draft, but with an eye toward the future and Cassel's contract due to expire after the season, the Patriots used a third-round pick on San Diego State's Kevin O'Connell.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound O'Connell, selected 94th overall, was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft and the Patriots' second pick of the round, following Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable at No. 78. A four-year captain for San Diego State, O'Connell shot up draft boards with his arm strength, athleticism, toughness, and leadership.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels worked out O'Connell in San Diego and the two clicked. O'Connell called working with McDaniels "tremendous" and clearly came away impressed. The feeling was mutual.
"[He] played on a passing team in a passing league and in all honesty not behind a real good line and was kind of on the run a little bit, but I thought he held in there and did a pretty good job of being productive and making good decisions," said coach Bill Belichick. "A lot of times he was under a lot of pressure as well."
Some quarterbacks would be disappointed to be drafted by a team with an established starter such as Brady, but O'Connell sees it as an opportunity to learn from the best.
"That's the first thing I thought of to tell you the truth," said O'Connell. "I've been watching him for a long time and kind of studying the way he plays the game and carries himself and leads his teammates. Not only that, but to play for the coaching staff, for Coach McDaniels and Coach Belichick, it's going to be the best possible situation for me to grow as a player. That's all I wanted was an opportunity to grow and come in and learn from the best, both coaching-wise and with the leader of the football team."
In 40 games at San Diego State, O'Connell, who became a starter with five games left in his redshirt freshman season, completed 664 of 1,151 passes (57.7 percent), 46 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions. As a senior he completed 257 of 439 passes (58.5 percent) for 3,063 yards, with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He also was San Diego State's leading rusher with a 408 yards and 11 TDs on 135 carries, all school season records for a quarterback. O'Connell's mobility brings an added to dimension to the position.
"At the level at which I played it provided a different aspect, a different wrinkle," he said. "But I think in the NFL, hopefully, my goal is to become the best possible pocket passer I can be and learn the art of playing quarterback at that level. If my athletic ability can help me three or four times to maybe make a play then that will definitely be a strong suit of mine, but I have a lot to learn."
O'Connell, who does have mechanical flaws, said one of his strengths is his ability to handle adversity. The Aztecs went 4-8 last season and were 3-9 in 2006.
But like everybody else, New England's ostensible quarterback of the future is in awe of how New England's present passer conducts himself under pressure.
"I think that's one of the great things that makes Tom Brady so special," said O'Connell. "I know watching him over the course of his career I've been a fan of the way he carries himself throughout the ballgame, the way he's able to lead his team, and the comebacks and late-game heroics.
"When adversity hits him it's almost like it's impossible to see because . . . he just continues to play at a high level. That's something that I've tried to emulate. But to be around him on a day-to-day basis and watch everything he does from film study to work ethic to dealing with his teammates, it's going to be an amazing opportunity for me."
Brady was once an unheralded college quarterback drafted by the Patriots, going in the sixth round (199th overall) in 2000. O'Connell went 105 picks earlier, but he has no delusions of grandeur about supplanting the two-time Super Bowl MVP the way No. 12 did Drew Bledsoe.
"With Tom Brady there playing I think they just want to kind of look for a young quarterback to come in and groom," said O'Connell. "They have three very good quarterbacks there already. I think it's going to be a good opportunity to come in and get my feet wet in the NFL, learn from the best, and just continue to grow as a player."
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.
