FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today the signing of 15 rookie free agents: TE Rashod Berry, DB Myles Bryant, TE Jake Burt, DL Nick Coe, LB De'Jon Harris, WR Will Hastings, QB Brian Lewerke, DL Bill Murray, WR Sean Riley, QB J'Mar Smith, RB J.J. Taylor, LB Kyahva Tezino (key-AH-va tuh-ZEENO), WR Jeff Thomas, DL Courtney Wallace and WR Isaiah Zuber.
Berry, 23, spent five years at Ohio State, including his 2015 redshirt year. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder played in four victories over Michigan and was a part of three consecutive outright Big Ten Conference championship teams. He played on the defensive line and at tight end against both Maryland and Rutgers as a senior. Overall, he played in 50 games with four starts during his college career and caught 17 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns.
Bryant, 22, was named All-Pac 12 second team as a senior last season at Washington. The 5-foot-9, 185-pounder played in 50 games and finished with 191 tackles, four interceptions, 20 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Burt, 23, finished his career at Boston College with 23 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 260-pounder is a native of Lynnfield, Mass. and went to high school at St. John's Prep in Danvers.
Coe, 22, played in 36 games with 12 starts at Auburn and finished his college career with 71 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass defensed. The 6-foot-5, 291-pounder left college as a junior. He had a career-high 13 1/2 tackles for loss in 2018 as a sophomore.
Harris, 22, played in 48 games with 36 starts during his college career at Arkansas and finished with 371 tackles, 7½ sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and nine passes defensed. The 5-foot-11, 234-pounder was an All-SEC second-team selection as a senior in 2019. He finished his career with three straight 100-tackle seasons.
Hastings, 23, returned from an injury that caused him to redshirt in 2018 and played in 13 games with two starts and caught 19 receptions for 222 yards and one touchdown for Auburn in 2019. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder played in 42 total games with three starts during his collegiate career and finished with 56 receptions for 845 yards and six touchdowns.
Lewerke, 23, was a three-year starter at Michigan State and finished ranked first in school history in total offense with 9,548 yards (8,293 passing and 1,255 rushing). The 6-foot-3, 216-pounder also finished his career ranked third in school history in starts (38) and wins (22). He also completed his Spartan career ranked first in pass attempts (1,249), second in completions (721) and fourth in passing touchdowns (47).
Murray, 22, was a two-time All-CAA selection and a three-year starter who finished his career with 143 tackles, 19 sacks, 10 blocks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and six passes defensed. The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder was a two-year letter winner and served as a team captain as a senior.
Riley, 22, played in 49 games with 23 starts at Syracuse and finished with 119 receptions for 1,265 yards with four touchdowns, returned 115 kickoffs for 2,433 yards and 50 punt returns for 563 yards and one touchdown. The 5-foot-8, 178-pounder finished third on the Syracuse all-time list with 4,358 all-purpose yards and set the school record for most kickoff return yards (2,433). In addition, he blocked two punts during his career.
Smith, 23, finished his career with 759 completions on 1,280 pass attempts for 9,523 yards with 51 touchdowns and 21 interceptions at Louisiana Tech. The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder completed 236-of-367 passes for 2,977 yards with 18 touchdowns as a senior. Smith led Louisiana Tech to 14-0 win over Miami in the 2019 Independence Bowl. He was drafted in the 24th round by the San Diego Padres out of high school. His father played college football at Alabama and spent the 2008 season on injured reserve with the Patriots.
Taylor, 22, ran for 3,263 yards with 18 touchdowns, caught 62 passes for 487 yards with two touchdowns and returned 41 kicks for 988 yards with one touchdown during his career at Arizona. The 5-foot-6, 185-pounder ran for 721 yards with five touchdowns and caught 32 passes for 289 yards as a redshirt junior in 2019.
Tezino, 22, finished his college career at San Diego State ranked eighth in school history in assisted tackles (140) and 11th in total tackles (290). The 6-foot, 235-pounder led the team or tied for the team lead in tackles 18 times in his last 31 games and had 11 double-digit tackle games. He played in 48 games with 31 starts overall and finished with 290 tackles, 15½ sacks, two interceptions, five passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
Thomas, 22, played in 34 collegiate games during his three-year career at Miami and finished with 83 receptions for 1,316 yards and eight touchdowns. He also returned 54 kickoffs for 1,219 yards. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder saw action in 10 games with seven starts last season and had 31 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns.
Wallace, 23, played in 48 games during his college career at Louisiana Tech and finished with 54 tackles, 3½ sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed. The 6-foot-2, 305-pounder played in 13 games as a senior last season and finished with 41 total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defensed.
Zuber, 23, played three seasons at Kansas State before spending his final college season at Mississippi State. The 6-foot, 190-pounder left Kansas State with 127 career receptions for 1,321 yards and 11 touchdown receptions, both top-10 marks for the school. As a senior last season, he played in 13 games with three starts and caught 14 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
