Dreams are now becoming reality for Caleb Lomu

As Caleb Lomu stepped onto the field at Gillette Stadium alongside Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft, he stopped for a moment.

He glanced up at the video board welcoming him to New England as the 28th overall pick, then slowly scanned the stadium, taking in the place he’ll now call home.

It hasn’t taken long for the rookie to feel embraced by the organization.

On draft night, his phone flooded with messages from new teammates, including Drake Maye and Will Campbell.

That same sense of welcome continued on his red-eye flight from Arizona to Boston. As it turned out, the pilot was his uncle, Curtis Tanner, who made sure the flight was a memorable one.

“He’s the type of uncle who’s going to embarrass you a little bit. So, I knew it was coming. So my family told me to film it,” Lomu said. “And so I got on the plane. I was kind of just waiting. And then of course he got on the intercom, started talking, and then he actually, I thought he was going to just talk about me, but he brought me to the front, gave me like this flight pin of my first flight with him, telling everyone who I was, and proud uncle is what he was saying. So it was awesome.”

Now, it’s all becoming real.

On Friday, Lomu will get his first taste of the NFL as the Patriots begin rookie minicamp. As he prepares for that next step, he’s doing so with an open mind, willing to play wherever the team needs him.

“Any position that they need me at, I’m willing to play and would love to play,” Lomu said. “Any position that I can contribute to help the team, I’m gonna do that. And to get on the field and get some playing time. That’s the goal, and whatever position they need me to play to be able to get on the field and play, I’m willing to do.”

Lomu spent the past three seasons at the University of Utah, starting 12 games at left tackle in each of the last two years. He allowed just eight pressures and zero sacks across 357 pass-blocking snaps last season.

The Patriots have committed to Campbell as their starting left tackle, but with Morgan Moses now 35 years old, the 21-year-old Lomu could eventually project as his successor on the right side. And if that transition comes, Lomu says he’ll be ready for it.

“I just feel myself as a tackle just in general, left or right side,” Lomu said. “Just happened to play left in college, and that’s kind of what I got comfortable with, just playing those three years at left tackle at Utah. My first year there, I was kind of a swing tackle, so I feel comfortable at left, but I’ve also been working at right these past couple of months. So, I feel just as good on the right side as well, so either tackle position, I’m happy to play and feel comfortable playing.”

A former quarterback and wide receiver in his early flag football days, Lomu’s athletic traits only add to his versatility for a 6-foot-6, 313-pound offensive lineman.

For now, though, his focus is on learning, and letting the rest take care of itself.

“Short-term coming as a rookie, I’m going to be a sponge, learn everything that I can,” he said. “Cling on to a vet and get as much advice and information as I can get. Coming in, I know nothing. So I’m coming in and learning as much as I can on the field and off the field. So that’s my main goal, short-term. Just coming in and learning as much as I can. And long-term, of course, is to get back to where we were last year and get a win. The Super Bowl is my biggest goal that I want for me and the team. That’s what I’ve always wanted since I was a kid. And this is the type of team that has done it, knows we can do it, and will do it. And so I’m very confident this team to get back to where they were, and I’m very excited to be a part of that.”