June 23, 2018
It was 84 degrees and sunny in Athens, Ga., on Saturday afternoon, but chillier and gloomier conditions in Stoneham forced former Georgia Bulldogs (and current Patriots) receiver Malcolm Mitchell and running back Sony Michel to seek refuge indoors at the Stoneham High School gym, where they held a football clinic with local youth teams.
“Just interacting with kids, honestly, that’s what really keeps me going even if I’m tired,” Mitchell said.
Earlier in the day, Mitchell had held a reading event at The Hall at Patriot Place with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” author Jeff Kinney, who is from Plainville.
The highlight was when Kinney started to interview Mitchell, asking about his worst-ever haircut (double-parted afro, sixth grade) and what he’s reading now (“Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez).
“One of the worst decisions I’ve ever made,” Mitchell said about the haircut, which was so bad he pretended to be sick the next day to get out of school.
Later, in Stoneham, where he was joined by Michel for the “Hometown Huddle” event, Mitchell said he’s enjoyed having around Michel and Isaiah Wynn, both former Georgia teammates who were Patriots first-round selections.
“It’s cool,” Mitchell said. “Playing with them in college, I was older than them, and seeing — just watching them, just like everyone else was watching them, I was watching them grow and develop as players and now they’re here, it’s cool.”
Mitchell hasn’t gotten the full picture of how much Wynn, who was selected 23rd overall, and Michel, who was selected 31st, have developed since Georgia because he was only a partial participant at minicamp earlier this month.
Mitchell missed last season because of knee problems that have taken an unusually long time to rehab. He said he’s still not sure if he’ll be able to participate fully during training camp.
“We’ll see,” is all he said.
Michel, too, was happy to be spending the day with an old friend in Mitchell, though he laughed when asked if he could recite his answer about playing in the NFL with former Georgia teammates in his sleep.
He said Mitchell has been helpful as he learns the Patriots’ playbook, and that it’s been interesting to work not only with the running backs group but also the offensive line and line coach Dante Scarnecchia to figure out how all the parts of the offense fit together.
“We work with everybody,” Michel said.
“At the minicamp, we were working with everybody. Just trying to learn the system as best I can.”
Away from practice, Michel recently surprised his parents with new cars. He put his mom in an Audi SUV and his dad in a Chevy pickup truck. He’d asked what they’d like to drive, but they didn’t know when the cars were coming.
“I mean, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Michel said
“It’s all about my family. That’s who I do it for so it’s not really, I would say it’s big but it’s not big. It’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Sound fundamentals
Patrick Chung can often be spotted communicating on the football field, but he found himself shouting out instructions in a different role Saturday morning at Westwood High School.
The Patriots safety, as part of the Patrick Chung 23 Football Clinic, played the part of coach, emcee, quarterback, and comedian, teaching the fundamentals to close to 200 eager kids, ranging in ages from 7 to 14.
The clinic also featured Patriots players Ted Karras, Nate Ebner, and David Jones.
“It’s good to show the world that we’re not just football players,” Chung said. “We have hearts, and we like to help people and to have fun.”
Though the vibe was largely relaxed, Chung made sure to hold the players to a high standard.
When one was unable to snare a pass, Chung immediately swiveled his body, grinned, and instructed him to drop down for five push-ups.
He encouraged the campers to stay low and not tackle with their head, reminding them of the proper technique. When debates ensued, he played the role of mediator with a dry and quick sense of humor.
“You’ve got to get your rock, paper, scissors game going,” he told one camper. “They have a school for that.”
The day was particularly special for Westwood resident Peyton Gallagher, who celebrated his 14th birthday in style alongside one of his idols.
Gallagher, who plans to play for Westwood High next year, said it was an honor to meet Chung.
“I’ve been watching a lot of his film,” Gallagher said. “He’s one of my favorite Patriots. He makes so many plays.”
Karras, meanwhile, sporting an XL T-shirt that was clearly a size — or two — too small, also made an impression on the kids. As he spoke with reporters, a pack of eager campers crept up behind him.
“He teaches you the three-point stance!” one camper bellowed.
“You have to be aggressive!” another chimed in.
“Go for every ball!” a third chirped.
“I just like the unbridled enthusiasm that children have, to come out here and be loud and aggressive,” Karras said. “That’s what football’s all about.”
Globe correspondent Trevor Hass contributed to this report from Westwood. Nora Princiotti can be reached at nora.princiotti at globe dot com. Follow her on Twitter @NoraPrinciotti.
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