Josh Uche has been a New England Patriot for less than two weeks, and he says he already has a firm grasp on the team’s defensive system.
Thank Jerod Mayo for that.
Speaking with Phil Perry on NBC Sports Boston’s “Next Patriots Podcast,” Uche said it took Mayo, who’s entering his second year as a Patriots coach, just a few minutes to teach him the ins and outs of New England’s defense during their initial virtual meeting.
“The first WebEx meeting I had with the Patriots was with Coach Mayo, and he taught me the defense in, I’d want to say, two minutes,” the second-round draft pick told Perry. “And he taught it to me so well that I was able to recite it to him after when he started asked questions, ‘OK, what do you do when this happens, this, this and this?’ That’s just a testament how good a coach he is just in a short amount of time he could teach me the basics of the defense. … I definitely feel like Coach Mayo is the best in the business.”
Mayo, a former Pro Bowl linebacker, coached the New England’s inside ‘backers last season while also sharing defensive coordinator duties with Bill Belichick and Steve Belichick.
The Patriots lost two versatile linebackers (Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins) in free agency but gained another in Uche, whom they traded up to select with the 60th overall pick. Uche played both on the edge and off the ball in Michigan’s defense last season and was one of the nation’s most efficient pass rushers, leading the Wolverines in sacks in 2018 and 2019.
“When I got the (draft) call, I just knew that it was a perfect fit for me,” Uche said in his introductory conference call. “I feel like the Patriots are going to maximize everything that I have to offer.”
Third-round draft pick Anfernee Jennings also brings some versatility to New England’s front seven.
