Rookie James White was part of a tremendous backfield at Wisconsin with Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon, and the final member of that group is scheduled to be the first back taken in April's draft.

Gordon enjoyed a ridiculous senior season that saw him rush for 2,587 yards, falling just 41 yards shy of Barry Sanders' all-time single season record set in 1988. He also turned in a 408-yard performance – in just three quarters – during a win over Nebraska. That effort broke LaDainian Tomlinson's single-game record, but just two weeks later Oklahoma's Samaje Perrine topped that mark with 427 yards.

Gordon was asked if he'd spoken to White during the offseason and he was eager to explain how his former teammates have lent a helping hand.

"I talk to James and Montee all the time," Gordon said. "I'm really close with those guys still. I've been talking with James a lot throughout this process. He's been coaching me up. He told me, 'It's going to be a mental grind, but you'll be able to handle it, you'll be able to get through it.'

"Any questions I have about, 'What did you experience in your interviews?' this and that, he was there letting me know. There were a lot of teammates that reached out to me and just tried to fill me in and help me out."

Gordon was then asked if he'd given any thought to reuniting with White in New England.

"That would be sweet," he said. "That would be sweet. We mentioned that a couple times and we thought it'd be cool. But with this draft in the NFL you never know where you're going to go."