Will Campbell Joins the WEEI Afternoon Show live

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00:00is indeed Patriots first-round pick number four overall left tackle Will Campbell.

00:04Joining me, Andy Hart, alongside former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson and Nick Fitzy-Stevens.

00:10How are we doing today, Will?

00:12I'm doing good. How about y'all? I appreciate y'all having me on.

00:16Well, we appreciate you joining us.

00:18We listened in a little bit to your press conference on the field at Gillette Stadium,

00:23and we were talking about how comfortable you seem doing these interviews and these media sessions,

00:28and you seem to hit a home run with every answer, the right tone, the right words.

00:32Has that just always come naturally? Do you feel like that's just part of your makeup?

00:36What do you attribute that to?

00:39Yeah, honestly, to be honest with you, it just came naturally to me.

00:42Just try to stay calm in any answer.

00:45Just give the best answer I possibly can. Not give too much, but give enough.

00:50Hey, Will, congratulations on becoming an NFL football player.

00:55I'm just curious, you know, you're an emotional guy,

00:57and it was fun to hear you talk about being drafted by the Patriots after you got drafted.

01:04And it just made me think, I'm curious, like, where did your love of football begin?

01:07What was kind of the genesis of your desire to play football?

01:15Yeah, I mean, my dad introduced me to the game when I was, you know, a little boy.

01:19When he came out of the room at the hospital holding me,

01:23he was holding me like a football.

01:27It's something that's always, you know, ran through my family.

01:31I've loved it, you know, ever since I was a little kid and was able to understand it.

01:35And it's just something that gave me and my family a lot of great memories.

01:42And I'm just super excited for the next step.

01:44So, Will, it's no secret or surprise to anyone that New England established itself

01:49as the gold standard of the NFL this century with six Super Bowl wins over 19 years

01:54with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

01:56But it's also no surprise that the team has struggled the last couple of years.

02:00So what made you want to come to New England so badly,

02:03so much so that you told Executive Vice President of Player Personnel,

02:07Elliot Wolfe, way back in the 2024 season, that New England was where you wanted to end up?

02:13Yeah, I mean, I just wanted to play for a franchise with the history of this one.

02:20Playing for Coach Brable was something that, you know, I wanted to do.

02:24I wanted a fan base that, you know, truly is passionate about this team,

02:28just like the one I'm used to.

02:30I think, you know, this team is something that I was looking forward to joining

02:34because I know what we can be.

02:36I know that we had the pieces to, you know, be a successful football team.

02:40I'm super excited to, you know, play for Coach Brable.

02:42He's my type of guy.

02:44And I'm just, you know, really looking forward to, you know, this football season.

02:48It seems like, Will Campbell, you have natural leadership ability.

02:52What is that?

02:53What is your leadership style?

02:54And what do you think some of the challenges are of being a young rookie player on an NFL team,

02:59but also asserting yourself and taking on a leadership role in a professional locker room?

03:03Well, I couldn't really tell, you know, the challenges yet because I hadn't really been faced with them yet

03:09to be in the locker room with these guys and things like that.

03:12But, you know, I think, you know, the biggest thing for me is, you know, come in every day,

03:16be the best version of myself every day, be the best teammate, the best player,

03:22and the best person that I can be every single day in between this building out there on that field.

03:26And, you know, everything else will take care of itself.

03:28You know, Will, being a former player, I got to admit, I loved kind of your response

03:32to how you feel like what your job is in protecting Drake May, just making sure you have his back.

03:38And I'm curious, you know, just your thoughts on Drake.

03:41If you watched him in college and you watched him in the pros,

03:45what are some of the attributes and things that you notice when you watch Drake May?

03:50Yeah, I mean, he's a heck of a player. It's no secret.

03:54I've been very fortunate to, you know, block for some pretty dang good quarterbacks

03:58in my time at college with Jaden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeyer.

04:03And now my first one in the NFL is Drake May.

04:05So I've been very, you know, fortunate.

04:08I'm super excited, you know, not only build our relationship on the field,

04:11but, you know, off the field.

04:13And I'm just looking forward to it.

04:15He's a heck of a player.

04:16And not only me, you know, just the rest of the O-line,

04:18we just got to put him in the best position possible to, you know, help us win games.

04:22All right.

04:22So, Will Campbell, you're not afraid of the media and public speaking.

04:26You're not afraid of criticism or answering questions to people that, you know,

04:30want to know things about your body, arm length, wingspan, et cetera.

04:34You're not afraid of oncoming defenders and people that want to wreck you and your quarterback.

04:37So I have to ask you, is there anything you're actually afraid of?

04:44No, I wouldn't say that.

04:47Fearless. I love it.

04:49What are you looking forward to in terms of living in the Northeast?

04:52I know you talked about seafood, and maybe that's a little different than down in LSU.

04:57Like, what are you looking forward to maybe of that lifestyle change to the Northeast?

05:02Yeah, I mean, I've just been in Louisiana my whole life.

05:04So being able to, you know, be in a new community, experience a new culture,

05:09expand my horizons is something I'm looking forward to.

05:13This is a very passionate city, a very passionate fan base.

05:17So I'm just looking forward to, you know, meeting everybody, you know,

05:21everybody being able to put a face to a name with me and vice versa.

05:25And, you know, just moving up here, getting to work.

05:27I'm excited for the snow.

05:29I don't really get to see that too much.

05:30I've seen it twice in my life, and once was in Colorado.

05:33I'm Will.

05:36I'm just – Vrabel's a former teammate of mine, and I could kick his ass then.

05:40I could still kick his ass.

05:41But it sounds – you guys had a – he had a workout with you last week

05:44and got his hands into you.

05:47It sounds like you got the better of him.

05:49Anything you can share?

05:50I mean, did you – did you put him on his back, bro?

05:53How did that play out, though, that session?

05:56I mean, I'm not going to give too many details, but let's just say I got him.

06:01He had to get a new T.

06:02He had to get a new T-shirt after the workout.

06:05Nice.

06:06I love it.

06:07I love that.

06:07Now, obviously, yeah, Will, there's a lot of things about this place

06:10that you're going to – that are going to require a steep learning curve

06:13from the traffic to the size of the roads, the wind, the cold, everything.

06:17If you ever need any help, this show's got you covered.

06:19But I just wanted to ask you, you know, as your own man with a distinct personality,

06:24definitely a football guy,

06:26is there any one player you would say you idolized growing up

06:30or that your game most resembles?

06:33Yeah, I like to, you know, take every, you know, bits and pieces

06:36from whoever it might be, you know, that's in the league now.

06:39But, you know, being a kid from North Louisiana,

06:42a guy that, you know, that I truly looked up to as a young,

06:45aspiring offensive lineman was Andrew Whitworth and Cam Robinson.

06:50You know, they did it the right way in high school, college, and in the league.

06:54They've had, you know, a lot of success in all three of those.

06:58And, you know, whenever you're from there, you know,

07:00they're one of the few guys that's been able to do it at the highest level.

07:03So you look up to them and, you know, what they've done.

07:06And they kind of set the foundation for, you know,

07:09guys coming out of that area that play the position.

07:11Will, before we let you go, you're well aware that media fans

07:16will be judging your career.

07:17You're the number four pick in the draft.

07:19There was talk of tackle and guard and arm length.

07:22So we're going to be, you know, judging you from afar.

07:25How will you judge yourself?

07:26What is a successful rookie season and then successful

07:29first couple years of a career for Will Campbell look like?

07:33Yeah, man, I just want to win.

07:35Winning takes care of everything else.

07:37So, you know, my biggest goal is, you know,

07:39just come in in any type of way I can and, you know,

07:41help this team improve, you know, be the best teammate I can be,

07:45be the best leader that I can be,

07:46and just put the best product on the field every Sunday, Monday, Thursday,

07:50whatever day we play on the field possible.

07:53He is Will Campbell, number four overall pick,

07:56first round pick of the Patriots.

07:58Appreciate you joining us on WEEI Afternoons

08:01and look forward to you getting the pads on

08:03and watching you in training camp.

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