Looking to improve his reps

Patriots fans don't even want to ponder the notion of another lost season without the franchise's Super Bowl-winning savior, Tom Brady. But while all the buzz has been about Brady's comeback from his left knee injury, O'Connell has been quietly working to make sure he can be this year's Matt Cassel if called upon.

Being the backup is actually nothing new for O'Connell, who saw mop-up duty in two games as a rookie, completing 4 of 6 passes for 23 yards. After Brady tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in the 2008 season opener and Cassel took over, O'Connell served as the Patriots' backup QB the rest of the season.

"I was forced to prepare like I was one play away and be ready to go," said O'Connell, speaking after Kevin Faulk's charity softball game last Saturday night. "I really learned a lot from Matt last year as far as his preparation goes and how he prepared through training camp and got better each and every day.

"That's kind of what I want to do. I just want to be around Tom, work as hard as I can to learn from him and learn the ways that he does things, because if something were to happen, me and the other quarterbacks, we've got to be ready to go because we've got a lot of good players on our team and a lot of guys that you want to be good for."

It is notable that since trading Cassel to Kansas City in February, the Patriots haven't brought in an experienced quarterback to compete with O'Connell, who turns 24 Monday, or third-string signal-caller Matt Gutierrez. That might be as much a reflection of their confidence in Brady as it is O'Connell, but it still bodes well for the latter.

Some were surprised when the Patriots used a 2008 third-round pick on O'Connell, but at 6 feet 5 inches, 225 pounds with a rocket arm and Ben Roethlisberger-type running ability, O'Connell possesses the physical tools to develop into an NFL starter. However, he still has a lot to learn when it comes to commanding an offense.

He couldn't ask for a better role model and mentor than Brady.

"If there is one thing about him, it's that he's such a hard worker and such a good leader that you want to just be around him day in and day out," said O'Connell. "It's been a blessing for me, going through this offseason, kind of my second, knowing what to expect and knowing what's going to be expected on a daily basis, you can kind of really get after it and work hard."

O'Connell was close with former Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels, who worked out O'Connell in San Diego before the team drafted him. He has enjoyed working with Bill O'Brien, who inherited the quarterbacks coach position from McDaniels and is the team's de facto offensive coordinator.

"It's been awesome working with Coach O'Brien," said O'Connell. "He's done a phenomenal job, working his tail off and getting ready for the season. I'm really excited to continue to work with him and just be around him on the field and get into these [organized team activities] and minicamps and work on a lot of parts of my game and getting comfortable with the offense."

With Brady not participating in the three-day OTA that wraps up today, O'Connell got more repetitions. His goal is to get as many repetitions as possible in the spring to position himself to have a strong training camp.

Brady serves as the blueprint for quarterback improvement between the first and second training camp. He made a quantum leap, beating out veteran Damon Huard for the backup job in 2001. He then replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe during the season, eventually taking Bledsoe's job - and the Patriots to a Super Bowl title.

"It's more of a day-to-day thing trying to get better, working on the small things, and when it's all said and done, if you get an opportunity to play, you need to be ready because there's 52 other guys counting on you to be successful," said O'Connell.

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