Top Patriots Rookie Details Why He’s So Impressed By Bill Belichick

Whether Keion White turns into a good player for the Patriots remains to be seen. But it already is safe to say the rookie defensive end is a great culture fit in New England.

The Patriots used a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select White, whose viral reaction to being chosen wound up serving as a perfect example of his intensity and work ethic. After watching White’s college film, it was easy to understand why Bill Belichick was impressed by the Georgia Tech product. And the feeling clearly is mutual, as evidenced by White’s comments about Belichick during a recent podcast appearance.

“I like Bill a lot,” White said in the latest episode of the “Off The Leash with K9” podcast. “Because he’s real honest. Like, he’s gonna tell you if you’re f—ing up, and if you’re not — and I can respect that. And then he knows every position. Like, knows from punt returner to running back to defensive end.

“He’ll stop practice and tell anybody what they’re doing. And I ain’t really ever had that from a head coach in my career. So, it’s been real dope to get knowledge from him. Like, he’s stopped and corrected me on techniques for defense, in the middle of a practice, for D-line.”

(Note: The Clip below contains some NSFW language.)

Host Kyle Kennard then asked White to detail what kinds of things New England’s head coach says to him during teaching moments.

“Just simple stuff like cut-steps and everything like that,” White said. “Just the little things. Like, he knows little things, big things, all that for every single position.”

White added: “I feel like, as a rookie, there ain’t no better place to go to than the Patriots. It’s gonna be work, it’s gonna be hard. But it’s gonna really set you up for the rest of your career in the league because you’re gonna have that foundation that the Patriots kind of set for you.”

First-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez generated the majority of rookie headlines over the first three days of Patriots training camp, and deservedly so. The Oregon product certainly looked like a Day 1 starter.

But White was impressive, too, and saw noteworthy work with the first-team defense. His size and athleticism stood out, especially when he was rushing the quarterbacks.

That said, we’ll get a far better sense of where Gonzalez, White and the rest of New England’s rookies are once padded practices start Monday.