BC’s Ozzy Trapilo Ready To Fulfil NFL Draft Dream Possibly With Patriots
Ozzy Trapilo spent a decade with two letters coming at the start of the football team he played for.
But the next team the Boston College product, who also starred at BC High, suits up for won’t begin that way.
That’s more than fine for Trapilo because his next stop is the NFL. He is regarded as one of the top offensive tackle prospects in this year’s draft, which starts Thursday, and the 23-year-old Norwell, Mass., native is ready for some new threads to signal an achievement long in the making.
“I’m ready for change,” Trapilo told NESN.com. “This has been my dream for forever. So, just being able to do it is going to be awesome. It will be a little strange, though, having spent the majority of my life with the BC in front of the logo on my football jersey.”
Trapilo will get an answer soon as to which uniform he will don for the next several years. Many NFL draft pundits predict Trapilo to be a Day 2 pick — a second or third rounder — and it’s easy to see why teams across the league covet Trapilo.
Trapilo looks the part perhaps better than any other prospect. He stands at 6-foot-8 and 316 pounds, giving the 2024 All-ACC First Team selection the ideal size to go along with terrific athleticism to excel at the next level at the all-important tackle position.
It’s certainly an area the Patriots need to address, and drafting LSU’s Will Campbell fourth overall might not fully suffice New England’s need at the position. Trapilo is on the Patriots’ radar, having met with him informally on a few different occasions.
Trapilo, along with his BC teammate Drew Kendall, who could also wind up on the Patriots, also participated in the organization’s local pro day when it hosted prospects from the area earlier this month.
“It was good. Got to meet with a lot of the people on staff,” Trapilo said of the local pro day. “A lot of them I had already met throughout the process — Senior Bowl, Combine, pro day. It was quick. It felt more informal because I had gotten to meet them a lot already.”
The interactions with the Patriots gave Trapilo the opportunity to meet with Mike Vrabel. And it only further cemented Trapilo’s feelings about the new Patriots head coach after somewhat knowing him previously.
“He’s a great guy, great coach,” Trapilo said. “I got to know his son playing at BC. Played with him for two years, so there was already a little bit of a connection there. … I think he’s going to do great for the program there.”
BC head coach Bill O’Brien, who has a close relationship with Vrabel, certainly sees Trapilo as a good fit for the Patriots. Trapilo played at both tackle spots in college and started 24 games on the right side of the line over the past two seasons. Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.0 pass block grade and 74.1 offensive grade for his strong 2024 campaign.
Trapilo’s versatility would suit the Patriots well, along with the mindset Trapilo exhibits on a daily basis.
“Ozzy’s the type of guy who is just the same guy every day,” O’Brien told reporters following BC’s pro day last month, per NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry. “Never misses practices. Very tough, very talented, very smart — he’s got a master’s degree from Boston College. He’ll be excellent in the locker room. He’ll do whatever the coach asks him to do: he’ll play right tackle, he’ll play left tackle, he’ll play guard if you want him to. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do. He always puts the team first.
“And I think that’s some of the things that I think Mike’s probably looking for. I’m not telling Mike who to draft, but I don’t think he can go wrong with Ozzy Trapilo. Ozzy Trapilo will be a great pro.”
Playing for the Patriots would keep Trapilo close to home. He tries to not think about that, instead focusing on the opportunity as a whole that is in front of him.
But he gets asked about the possibility of putting on a Patriots uniform so much that he has his answer down to a science at this point.
“My common response is my dream is to play in the NFL. Whoever wants me, I’d be more than happy to do it,” Trapilo said. “I don’t know if I really have a specific play style that fits better with certain teams and not with others. I think I’m a pretty versatile player, so I would say I fit into a lot of offenses, which is good.”
The predraft process at this point is pretty much all wrapped up for Trapilo. Now, he’s just waiting, which might be the hardest part of it all.
But on the other end of it will be an accomplishment that has filled his thoughts for years, and that’s no matter if the draft call comes from the Patriots or one of the other 31 teams in the league.
“It has been a long time coming,” Trapilo said. “This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. So the fact that it’s just a couple days away now is crazy. I don’t think it’s really fully sunk in yet. I imagine it won’t until after I get the phone call.”