Two draft picks had 'emotional' FaceTime after reuniting on Patriots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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Leave it to the New England Patriots to draft two players from the same non-Power Five school -- who happen to be best friends.
The Patriots surprised many Saturday by trading up in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Maryland kicker Chad Ryland at No. 112 overall. Eight picks later, they took Eastern Michigan interior offensive lineman Sidy Sow.
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2023 NFL Draft: Updated list of Patriots' picks in Rounds 4-7
As it turns out, Ryland spent four seasons at Eastern Michigan from 2018 to 2021 before transferring to Maryland in 2022 and is very close with Sow. As in, to the point where the two shared a tearful phone conversation after learning they'd be NFL teammates in New England.
"Sidy is my guy," Ryland told reporters Saturday in a conference call. "We actually had a FaceTime together not too long after he got drafted, and I think there were a little bit of tears in both of our eyes. It was a pretty emotional moment for us."
Ryland was teammates with Sow for all of his four years in Ypsilanti -- Sow arrived at Eastern Michigan in 2017 -- and said the two remain in frequent communication.
"We've been really, really, really good friends from the time we were both at Eastern Michigan," Ryland added. "We're still in a couple group chats; we like to joke back and forth with each other and whatnot. But Sidy is an awesome dude, awesome competitor, super strong and just overall a really hard worker and great guy."
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Why o-linemen Jake Andrews, Sidy Sow are good fits for Patriots
Sow was one of three interior linemen the Patriots drafted on Day 3 (joining Troy's Jake Andrews and UCLA's Atonio Mafi) as New England makes an effort to bolster an offensive line that struggled to protect quarterback Mac Jones last season.
Whether you think the Patriots needed to use a fourth-round pick on a kicker is a different story, but Sow insisted the team is getting a good one in Ryland.
"Chad is a stud," Sow told reporters during his conference call. "He's the best kicker in the nation and he's going to be one of the best kickers in the NFL. That's a fact."
That's a bold statement -- but Sow might be a little biased.
