Globe Staff / May 4, 2008
FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots will have a three-way competition at punter for the second year in a row, as they signed rookie free agent Mike Dragosavich yesterday.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 212-pound Dragosavich arrived Thursday for a tryout, and the Patriots were impressed with what they saw in minicamp, as the North Dakota State product nearly took out some light fixtures in the Dana-Farber Field House with his skyscraping punts.
"Mike is pretty athletic. He is a tall guy, so he is long and can generate some pretty good leg speed," said coach Bill Belichick, who compared Dragosavich to former Giants punter Dave Jennings.
Dragosavich will challenge incumbent Chris Hanson and veteran free agent signee Scott Player. He spent considerable time working on holding for field goals in this rookie minicamp, a job the Patriots generally prefer is handled by the punter rather than a quarterback.
The personable Dragosavich left quite a mark at Division 2 North Dakota, both for his punting and humorous ad-lib dance during a basketball game that has made the rounds on YouTube.
In addition to Dragosavich, the Patriots also signed tight end Tyson DeVree of Colorado.
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