Hightower led the defensive huddle Monday night.
New England Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower watches from the bench during a preseason NFL football game between the Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Foxborough, Mass. Monday, Aug. 20, 2012. FOXBOROUGH – The first time Dont’a Hightower heard the voice talking into his head, he spun around and looked over his shoulder.
It was a familiar sound, but he couldn’t place it and wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Finally, once he got his wits about him, he relayed the information that was being fed through the speaker in his helmet and got to work.
“It’s something that I’m not used to. The couple of times that we did it at practice, I was kind of lost,” Hightower said. “I didn’t know who was talking to me. I still didn’t know for a while that it was (defensive coordinator Matt Patricia).”
Things aren’t as awkward now. Hightower still doesn’t feel at home wearing the green dot and leading the defensive huddle, but he’s getting there. The rookie was asked to do the job during Monday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles and got through the task without a visible hitch.
He likely won’t be asked to do the same during the regular season when Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo are on the field with him, but he’s confident that he could handle the task and is flattered that the team is willing to trust him with such a large responsibility this early in his tenure.
“I’m comfortable enough to do it. I don’t think they would ask me to do it if they didn’t think I was ready for it or if it was too big of a responsibility,” Hightower said. “It just shows how much confidence they have in me and the respect I have from my teammates to look at a younger guy calling the huddle and making all the checks.”
With two preseason games under his belt, Hightower said that he feels he could have played better in certain moments, but, overall, he’s pleased with where he is at this point.
In other words, he still feels like a rookie.
“Always room for improvement. Still learning, still being a young guy,” Hightower said. “I’m just glad to get the feeling with the rest of the linebackers and just get to learn.”