Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Will Campbell Joins the WEEI Afternoon Show live
Audacy
Follow
4/25/2025
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
is indeed Patriots first-round pick number four overall left tackle Will Campbell.
00:04
Joining me, Andy Hart, alongside former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson and Nick Fitzy-Stevens.
00:10
How are we doing today, Will?
00:12
I'm doing good. How about y'all? I appreciate y'all having me on.
00:16
Well, we appreciate you joining us.
00:18
We listened in a little bit to your press conference on the field at Gillette Stadium,
00:23
and we were talking about how comfortable you seem doing these interviews and these media sessions,
00:28
and you seem to hit a home run with every answer, the right tone, the right words.
00:32
Has that just always come naturally? Do you feel like that's just part of your makeup?
00:36
What do you attribute that to?
00:39
Yeah, honestly, to be honest with you, it just came naturally to me.
00:42
Just try to stay calm in any answer.
00:45
Just give the best answer I possibly can. Not give too much, but give enough.
00:50
Hey, Will, congratulations on becoming an NFL football player.
00:55
I'm just curious, you know, you're an emotional guy,
00:57
and it was fun to hear you talk about being drafted by the Patriots after you got drafted.
01:04
And it just made me think, I'm curious, like, where did your love of football begin?
01:07
What was kind of the genesis of your desire to play football?
01:15
Yeah, I mean, my dad introduced me to the game when I was, you know, a little boy.
01:19
When he came out of the room at the hospital holding me,
01:23
he was holding me like a football.
01:27
It's something that's always, you know, ran through my family.
01:31
I've loved it, you know, ever since I was a little kid and was able to understand it.
01:35
And it's just something that gave me and my family a lot of great memories.
01:42
And I'm just super excited for the next step.
01:44
So, Will, it's no secret or surprise to anyone that New England established itself
01:49
as the gold standard of the NFL this century with six Super Bowl wins over 19 years
01:54
with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
01:56
But it's also no surprise that the team has struggled the last couple of years.
02:00
So what made you want to come to New England so badly,
02:03
so much so that you told Executive Vice President of Player Personnel,
02:07
Elliot Wolfe, way back in the 2024 season, that New England was where you wanted to end up?
02:13
Yeah, I mean, I just wanted to play for a franchise with the history of this one.
02:20
Playing for Coach Brable was something that, you know, I wanted to do.
02:24
I wanted a fan base that, you know, truly is passionate about this team,
02:28
just like the one I'm used to.
02:30
I think, you know, this team is something that I was looking forward to joining
02:34
because I know what we can be.
02:36
I know that we had the pieces to, you know, be a successful football team.
02:40
I'm super excited to, you know, play for Coach Brable.
02:42
He's my type of guy.
02:44
And I'm just, you know, really looking forward to, you know, this football season.
02:48
It seems like, Will Campbell, you have natural leadership ability.
02:52
What is that?
02:53
What is your leadership style?
02:54
And what do you think some of the challenges are of being a young rookie player on an NFL team,
02:59
but also asserting yourself and taking on a leadership role in a professional locker room?
03:03
Well, I couldn't really tell, you know, the challenges yet because I hadn't really been faced with them yet
03:09
to be in the locker room with these guys and things like that.
03:12
But, you know, I think, you know, the biggest thing for me is, you know, come in every day,
03:16
be the best version of myself every day, be the best teammate, the best player,
03:22
and the best person that I can be every single day in between this building out there on that field.
03:26
And, you know, everything else will take care of itself.
03:28
You know, Will, being a former player, I got to admit, I loved kind of your response
03:32
to how you feel like what your job is in protecting Drake May, just making sure you have his back.
03:38
And I'm curious, you know, just your thoughts on Drake.
03:41
If you watched him in college and you watched him in the pros,
03:45
what are some of the attributes and things that you notice when you watch Drake May?
03:50
Yeah, I mean, he's a heck of a player. It's no secret.
03:54
I've been very fortunate to, you know, block for some pretty dang good quarterbacks
03:58
in my time at college with Jaden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeyer.
04:03
And now my first one in the NFL is Drake May.
04:05
So I've been very, you know, fortunate.
04:08
I'm super excited, you know, not only build our relationship on the field,
04:11
but, you know, off the field.
04:13
And I'm just looking forward to it.
04:15
He's a heck of a player.
04:16
And not only me, you know, just the rest of the O-line,
04:18
we just got to put him in the best position possible to, you know, help us win games.
04:22
All right.
04:22
So, Will Campbell, you're not afraid of the media and public speaking.
04:26
You're not afraid of criticism or answering questions to people that, you know,
04:30
want to know things about your body, arm length, wingspan, et cetera.
04:34
You're not afraid of oncoming defenders and people that want to wreck you and your quarterback.
04:37
So I have to ask you, is there anything you're actually afraid of?
04:44
No, I wouldn't say that.
04:47
Fearless. I love it.
04:49
What are you looking forward to in terms of living in the Northeast?
04:52
I know you talked about seafood, and maybe that's a little different than down in LSU.
04:57
Like, what are you looking forward to maybe of that lifestyle change to the Northeast?
05:02
Yeah, I mean, I've just been in Louisiana my whole life.
05:04
So being able to, you know, be in a new community, experience a new culture,
05:09
expand my horizons is something I'm looking forward to.
05:13
This is a very passionate city, a very passionate fan base.
05:17
So I'm just looking forward to, you know, meeting everybody, you know,
05:21
everybody being able to put a face to a name with me and vice versa.
05:25
And, you know, just moving up here, getting to work.
05:27
I'm excited for the snow.
05:29
I don't really get to see that too much.
05:30
I've seen it twice in my life, and once was in Colorado.
05:33
I'm Will.
05:36
I'm just – Vrabel's a former teammate of mine, and I could kick his ass then.
05:40
I could still kick his ass.
05:41
But it sounds – you guys had a – he had a workout with you last week
05:44
and got his hands into you.
05:47
It sounds like you got the better of him.
05:49
Anything you can share?
05:50
I mean, did you – did you put him on his back, bro?
05:53
How did that play out, though, that session?
05:56
I mean, I'm not going to give too many details, but let's just say I got him.
06:01
He had to get a new T.
06:02
He had to get a new T-shirt after the workout.
06:05
Nice.
06:06
I love it.
06:06
I love it.
06:07
I love that.
06:07
Now, obviously, yeah, Will, there's a lot of things about this place
06:10
that you're going to – that are going to require a steep learning curve
06:13
from the traffic to the size of the roads, the wind, the cold, everything.
06:17
If you ever need any help, this show's got you covered.
06:19
But I just wanted to ask you, you know, as your own man with a distinct personality,
06:24
definitely a football guy,
06:26
is there any one player you would say you idolized growing up
06:30
or that your game most resembles?
06:33
Yeah, I like to, you know, take every, you know, bits and pieces
06:36
from whoever it might be, you know, that's in the league now.
06:39
But, you know, being a kid from North Louisiana,
06:42
a guy that, you know, that I truly looked up to as a young,
06:45
aspiring offensive lineman was Andrew Whitworth and Cam Robinson.
06:50
You know, they did it the right way in high school, college, and in the league.
06:54
They've had, you know, a lot of success in all three of those.
06:58
And, you know, whenever you're from there, you know,
07:00
they're one of the few guys that's been able to do it at the highest level.
07:03
So you look up to them and, you know, what they've done.
07:06
And they kind of set the foundation for, you know,
07:09
guys coming out of that area that play the position.
07:11
Will, before we let you go, you're well aware that media fans
07:16
will be judging your career.
07:17
You're the number four pick in the draft.
07:19
There was talk of tackle and guard and arm length.
07:22
So we're going to be, you know, judging you from afar.
07:25
How will you judge yourself?
07:26
What is a successful rookie season and then successful
07:29
first couple years of a career for Will Campbell look like?
07:33
Yeah, man, I just want to win.
07:35
Winning takes care of everything else.
07:37
So, you know, my biggest goal is, you know,
07:39
just come in in any type of way I can and, you know,
07:41
help this team improve, you know, be the best teammate I can be,
07:45
be the best leader that I can be,
07:46
and just put the best product on the field every Sunday, Monday, Thursday,
07:50
whatever day we play on the field possible.
07:53
He is Will Campbell, number four overall pick,
07:56
first round pick of the Patriots.
07:58
Appreciate you joining us on WEEI Afternoons
08:01
and look forward to you getting the pads on
08:03
and watching you in training camp.
Recommended
2:18
|
Up next
WEEI Afternoons: Does Mike Vrabel want Will Campbell?
WEEI-FM / WEEI
4/22/2025
2:17
Jones & Keefe: There is no better pairing for Jayson Tatum than Jaylen Brown
WEEI-FM / WEEI
yesterday
2:17
Jones & Keefe: Brad Marchand returning to the Bruins make no sense for either side
WEEI-FM / WEEI
yesterday
2:20
Jones & Keefe: Who is in better standing, Alex Cora or Craig Breslow?
WEEI-FM / WEEI
yesterday
1:46
Who made CBS Sports’ top 25 all time NFL players list, and who got snubbed?
KRLD-FM / 105.3 The Fan
4 days ago
2:09
Tim Cato talks Cooper Flagg, D'Angelo Russell & Mavs free agency needs
KRLD-FM / 105.3 The Fan
5 days ago
2:08
Cooper Flagg is a Maverick + other highlights from Day 1 of the 2025 NBA Draft
KRLD-FM / 105.3 The Fan
5 days ago
2:16
New Bulls forward Noa Essengue 'is prototypical of what the NBA wants right now'
WSCR-AM / 670 The Score
5 days ago
1:35
Haugh on the Bulls: 'This is a front office that didn't go into this draft with a win-now mandate'
WSCR-AM / 670 The Score
5 days ago
1:08
Craig Counsell amid Cubs' rough patch: 'The great part about baseball seasons is it’s a ride'
WSCR-AM / 670 The Score
6 days ago
15:01
Alex Cora joins WEEI Afternoons
Audacy
5/14/2025
2:05
Taking the new Ford Expedition for a test drive
Audacy
5/13/2025
13:08
Alex Cora joins WEEI Afternoons to discuss first base
Audacy
5/7/2025
2:21
Joe Andruzzi on Campbell wingspan
Audacy
4/28/2025
5:36
Patriots take Will Campbell #4 overall
Audacy
4/25/2025
14:45
Brian Scalabrine joins WEEI Afternoons
Audacy
4/9/2025
7:15
Gwen Stefani | Audacy's Leading Ladies 2025
Audacy
4/8/2025
5:03
Haven Madison | Audacy's Leading Ladies 2025
Audacy
4/4/2025
6:05
Alessia Cara | Audacy's Leading Ladies 2025
Audacy
4/4/2025
3:32
Lainey Wilson | Audacy's Leading Ladies 2025
Audacy
4/4/2025
4:12
Kassi Ashton | Audacy's Leading Ladies 2025
Audacy
4/4/2025
1:56
Brent Venables: Grady Jarrett is a 'dude of dudes'
Audacy
3/12/2025
2:04
Olin Kreutz explains how Bears should address center position
Audacy
3/6/2025
1:30
Mark Grote: Ben Johnson is under pressure to win immediately in Chicago
Audacy
3/6/2025
2:03
Haugh on Bears: 'Ryan Poles is the general manager, but Ben Johnson has the most power'
Audacy
3/6/2025