Patriots Daily Q&A with Norfolk St. CB Don Carey - New England Patriots Forums

PatriotsDaily.com · 04-06-2009, 10:00 AM

All-Star game, combine, pro day: call them the trifecta of NFL draft hype. Miss on one or more, and your stock can slide. Hit on all three like Don Carey did, and you might collect your winnings at the end of April.

Although he excelled at Norfolk State, the cornerback had a lot to prove after his senior season and did so during East-West Shrine Game practice week. Positive combine and pro day workouts only increased his chances.

Last Friday, Carey spent some time between his daily workouts talking with PD about the pre-draft process and one particular pro team’s interview.

Don Carey Q&A With PD

(Some interesting comments from Carey on how his visit with the Patriots went.)

***Box_O_Rocks*** · 04-06-2009, 11:45 AM

Good stuff! Ah, to see them grow up. I remember Chris Warner when he was a struggling young scribbler trying to get noticed through the interweb... Not much has changed, but it's nice to see him plugging away.

Seneschal2 · 04-07-2009, 07:12 PM

Thanks for the interview. I particularly enjoyed this part, as it exemplifies how the Pats seek out smart players:

Quote:

Have you spoken with the Patriots at all?
I spoke to the Patriots at the East-West Shrine Game, and for a second at the combine.

How are those conversations? What are those like?
The conversation with the Patriots, I remember that more than any other team’s. We, right away, talked playbook. They picked my head from beginning to end on what I would do. They put me into a lot of situations: I had to tell them what I would do in my defense, and then their defense. We would go (through) them and talk, and then we’d come back to that same play, and they’d say, we’ll try this play out, as far as our defense goes. That’s really unique. No one else has asked me to do that right now. No one else has put me in a situation where I had to respond (to) what I would do if I was at the corner slot or the free safety slot. It was challenging, but I liked it a lot. They really made me use my head and think.

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Noteworthy: In addition to interviewing Carey, the Pats also privately worked him out. He's a projected 7th-rounder.

Brady'sButtBoy · 04-07-2009, 07:39 PM

I haven't seen him play, but his numbers and scouting reports look pretty good. And i loved this interview, you could tell he was very sharp. Then I went and looked up his scouting reports and gleaned this nugget -
"He is also very bright. After high school, Carey turned down a chance to attend Yale because it was cost prohibitive and had the highest GPA on the Norfolk State team."

Versatile (CB or FS), bright, and a team first guy? Sound like a Patriot to you?

***Box_O_Rocks*** · 04-07-2009, 09:20 PM

He had a good Shrine game and has enough size and physicality to be considered a CB/S tweener.