FOXBORO -- New England selected Florida cornerback Duke Dawson in the second round Friday night, which turned out to be its only pick in that round.
Speaking on a conference call after the selection, Dawson explained what it was like.
"It was so surreal," he said. "All my family members, we're just watching TV and at the time I was just looking at all the picks to see what was going on and I kind of got caught in just watching the football players and the plays. All of a sudden my phone started ringing. Then I saw a Massachusetts area code and when I saw that my heart just started beating and I just got so excited. Once I got on the phone and talked to Coach [Bill] Belichick and talked to the general manager, I mean it just felt so surreal, man. I mean it's been a dream come true since I was little, just being able to fulfill my dreams."
Dawson said on his pre-draft visit to the Patriots he wanted them to get a sense of "the real side of Duke."
"I'm a very humble guy," he said. "I just come in and do what is said. I've never been a guy that came in conceited, cocky. I've just always been humble and mellow. I'm just a laid back guy. When it's time to turn up and do the things that I like to do, that's when things start to get even better for me. I just like to come in and help in any way that I could. It really don't matter where I get put. I just want to come in and help this team in any way I can."
Playing in the SEC, Dawson played against both of the Patriots' selections in the first round -- Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel. He's looking forward joining forces with them, especially Michel.
"I actually remember playing against Sony Michel my junior and senior year," he said. "That's a great guy. Sony can do it all. So I mean being able to have a guy like that in the backfield is going to be phenomenal. Just seeing all those great things that he's done and I feel like there's going to be great things coming ahead."
