LSU Coach: Will Campbell-Mike Vrabel Showdown ‘All-Time Classic’

If Will Campbell becomes the next great Patriots lineman, his workout with the team in the draft leadup will be a thing of lore.

The Patriots made the LSU tackle their first-round pick last week, taking him Thursday night with the No. 4 overall selection. Campbell immediately endeared himself to New England with a memorable on-stage interview, and the legend grew as fans started to learn more about him.

Perhaps nothing was better received than the tale of the Patriots’ final pre-draft look at Campbell. Organization brass went to Baton Rouge and got another up-close look at the man they hope can protect Drake Maye for years to come.

Everyone now knows the story: As part of that workout, Campbell planted Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who repped in during the workout to hold the blocking pad. That turned out to be a questionable decision for Vrabel, whom Campbell promptly dumped on his backside.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly knew he was witnessing something special as it all went down.

“In my 35 years, I’ve seen a lot of workouts — this was a classic,” Kelly told The Boston Globe. “The only time I saw something similar, there was a couple times that Mike Tomlin got involved in a couple of the workouts. But not to the extent of the physicality that Vrabel did. That was an all-time classic.”

Thankfully, we’re learning more and more about the workout from those who were there to watch it all go down. Because if Vrable has it his way, the tape will never see the light of day. That’s understandable, although the story — especially if everything goes to plan from here — should make both Campbell and Vrabel even more popular in New England.

“What I love about Vrabel is he’s like, ‘All right, show me what you got.’ And Will’s like, ‘Are you sure?’ And (Vrabel) goes ‘If you don’t, I don’t like you,'” Kelly recalled. “And he freakin’ rocks him. It was on.”

Campbell will get a chance to start picking on someone his own size next month when the Patriots convene for OTAs in May.