Tag: Todd Rucci

71 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 71 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 71 jersey number.

With 71 days left until the regular season opener for the New England Patriots, we are looking at every player for the franchise that has ever worn the No. 71 jersey.

Offensive guard Michael Onwenu, who is one of the most underrated offensive players in the NFL, currently wears the number for New England. He was snubbed from the Pro Bowl in 2022, despite having the fourth-highest Pro Football Focus grade at his position.

Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio was the only other AFC offensive guard with a higher grade than Onwenu.

Of course, there have been other standouts to wear the jersey, from offensive linemen to defensive linemen. Here’s every Patriots player that has worn the No. 71 jersey throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

Rucci sets commitment date, is Notre Dame an option?

Nolan Rucci, the 5-Star Pennsylvania offensive tackle, has set his announcement date for early next week. Are the Irish a viable option?

Late last January the Irish offered Pennsylvania offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, and the through was Notre Dame would be a player in his recruitment until the end. That is the case, as Rucci, the 14th overall player and nationally the 5th ranked tackle by the 247Sports composite has announced he will commit on Tuesday, televised by CBS Sports HQ.

Rucci will go live with his announcement at 6pm EST, but don’t expect to see Irish head coach Brian Kelly on Twitter with his #WeAreND reaction. Notre Dame has been included in his final 5, but they are on the outside looking in. At 247Sports there are 5 crystal balls, none of them favoring the Irish. The same at Rivals with their FutureCasts favoring Wisconsin, the overwhelming favorite to land the offensive tackle.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, Rucci’s older brother Hayden plays for the Badgers, while his father Todd is Penn State alumnus. Those are really the two schools that have the best chance at the younger Rucci’s commitment.

Kelly would have loved to add Rucci to the ‘21 class, as they currently have two tackles committed in Blake Fisher and Joe Alt. Fisher is a 5-Star like Rucci and Alt is considered more of a project due to his lack of experience playing tackle. When you add in the commits of guard Rocco Spindler and center Pat Coogan, it is a fantastic group even after missing out on Rucci.