Patriots DL - Sam Roberts – 2022 Draft, Pick 200

Conference Call

April 30, 2022

Q: Welcome to New England. I noticed after you got drafted, you sent out a Tweet that said, "oh my god." I am curious what emotions led to that Tweet.

SR: Just, 'Oh my God.' I have been praying for this for a long time, and that was just my first instinct to think, 'Oh my God', look at God's work. I had every emotion in my body at that point in time. You work hard for this your entire life and when it comes to fruition, it is just like Jesus. If I could give you a word, I would but I can't.

Q: In terms of your playing ability, one thing that I noticed is that you blocked 5 kicks in your career. It sounds like you like playing special teams.

SR: Yes sir. Whatever I can do to get on that field, you know I am going to do that.

Q: Congratulations. What do you want everyone to know about you as a player and a person?

SR: I am a hard-working guy on and off of the field. I am going to commit myself 100 percent to this process. I love New England already. I can feel it.

Q: Did you watch the Patriots growing up?

SR: Yes. I actually was a big Tom Brady guy. Big Tom Brady guy. I loved Vince Wilfork, and I always watched them growing up. That was my team, so it is crazy that this has come full circle.

Q: I wanted to ask you a little more about the blocked kicks. Five of them is kind of a crazy number. Is there something that you have pinpointed that has helped you to block so many?

SR: It is just working hard. I just try to come off the ball hard and get my hands up. At my school, we took pride in playing special teams and that was just a major phase of the ball. We practiced that a lot and it just kind of worked out for us.

Q: I wanted to ask about your experience with getting the call today. Were you expecting to get drafted and what was the experience like getting the call when you found out you were going to get drafted?

SR: Growing up, that was always the goal. I always told myself that I would get drafted but at the end of the day, you never know. Either way, if I was going to get drafted or not, you still would have gotten the same performance out of me. I am going to work hard. I am going to play my best. When I did get the call from Coach Bill [Bill Belichick] that was big time for me, growing up and watching the Patriots. When I heard his voice on the phone, I had to catch my breath for a second. Like I said, I can't even put it into words the feeling that I got. I am just so excited to be in this position, and I just want to thank the organization for seeing something in me and picking me.

Q: I was reading a little bit about you getting the Cliff Harris Award. Did you make double sure that you were going to have your phone on you today?

SR: For sure. Mr. Cliff is a great guy. I was honored to get the Cliff Harris Award, of course. He [Cliff Harris] has been in contact with me throughout all of this and he always had faith that I could get drafted and kept telling me that. It is just crazy that is actually happened.

Q: Coming from Northwest Missouri State, obviously the lower-level division, you had that great production and won the award we were just talking about [Cliff Harris Award]. Everyone knew about you but how do you feel you got noticed more from the NFL teams in the process? Was there an All-Star game or something that really helped you elevate?

SR: Well, I played in the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine game, and I think those two definitely helped to get more eyes on me. Mr. Cliff worked pretty hard to get my name out there. My agent was really good at getting me into the East-West Shrine game. I am a true believer that if you can play football, they will find you. People have always preached that, and I think that there is a lot of truth in that.

Q: Was there any moment leading into the draft, which made you think you might end up in New England?

SR: We have been in contact and have talked a few times over the past few months, but I never really got any indication on which way. I just had faith that someone would pick me, and I am happy with this organization.

Q: Welcome to New England. Because you mentioned this was your team, were you anymore nervous talking to the Patriots in the pre-draft process?

SR: It just gave me a lot more excitement and an extra boost to keep going hard and keep working hard. It almost feels like a fairytale ending almost, you know you grow up watching the team and then they end up picking you in the draft. I am still at a loss for words, and it has been almost two hours now.