Hightower brings maturity, confidence

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FOXBORO -- Linebacker Dont'a Hightower feels blessed to be in New England. He arrived on Friday, along with fellow first-round pick, defensive end Chandler Jones.

Hightower told a story about saving his best friend from being pulled into a tornado that was 75 yards away from his college apartment in Alabama. He grabbed his friend as he was sliding towards the door and pulled him under the bathroom sink with him.

The frightening moment put a lot into perspective for the Patriots' second pick of the first round (25th overall). His recollection of the story described his character: Strong, composed, and perhaps mature beyond his years.

"I couldn't even explain to you how scary it was," said Hightower on Friday at Gillette Stadium. "You just never know when it's your last breath. And that definitely put things in perspective and made me change, as far as my thinking perspective. I'm definitely blessed to be here today."

The Patriots hope those characteristics will combine with his knowledge of Bill Belichick's defensive system, and translate on the field.

Hightower compared Belichick to his college coach Nick Saban by calling them "two peas in a pod." And he believes the similarities will benefit him right away.

"I feel like it's going to be, more or less, about me learning the terminology, rather than learning a whole new defense, which is definitely going to help me be able to excel my game and play a lot faster, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it."

As for what type of player Hightower is, he didn't hold anything back on Friday when describing his game.

"I'm tough, physical, hard-nosed. I'm a big hitter. I'm going to get to the ball. When I get to the ball, I'm going to make sure that whoever has the ball, whoever's around the ball, is going to feel me. They're definitely going to be intimidated. I'm definitely going to be somebody who, either the running back or the quarterback or the offensive line is going to want to know where I'm at on the field at all times. I'm definitely going to get to the ball."

Hightower eventually went into even more specifics, and talked up his coverage game, saying that he dropped into coverage "all the time" at Alabama, which was more than people think.

"A lot of people don't really understand the coverage or the zone, so a lot of people don't think I drop in coverage," said Hightower. "It's more complicated than it really is. But nine times out of 10, a lot of teams didn't want to run the ball on us. We'd have to go into a sub or dime package."

That coverage game, he believes, will also translate at the NFL level. But if anything is going to get him on the field as a rookie in New England, Hightower believes it will be his versatility.

"Me being able to play all the different positions, me knowing all the different positions at Alabama is what really helped me excel my game to get on the field a lot more at such a young age," said Hightower. "That's something that I'm definitely going to use here, my versatility. Whether it's getting after the quarterback, getting on the running back, or dropping in coverage."

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