Draft Transcript- Julian Ashby 4/26
PATRIOTS 2025 SEVENTH-ROUND DRAFT PICK JULIAN ASHBY
PRESS CONFERENCE
April 26, 2025
Q: I want to just start by asking you what your reaction is to being drafted by the Patriots?
JA: Yeah, in this position it’s kind of a toss-up. You never know what’s going to happen really going through this process. I was able to build a relationship with the staff there over the past few weeks and I’m super excited to go up there and play for Coach [Mike] Vrabel, and be a part of a franchise that’s done a lot of winning.
Q: You mentioned being able to build a relationship. Could you tell us a little bit about how that happened?
JA: Yeah, had an opportunity at the Specialist Showcase at the Combine back in Indianapolis. That was my first exposure to Coach [Jeremy] Springer and your staff. Recently, he came down to Nashville and we did a workout and he walked me through the expectations there and the opportunity. I just put my best foot forward and I guess it went well enough that they’re willing to take a chance on me here.
Q: Julian, how about other teams? What was it like? I mean, I heard you maybe even visited a couple. What was that like?
JA: Yeah, there was a lot of interest throughout this process. Each of those interactions is something I’m really grateful for and. I have some great opportunities ahead of me. Fortunately, New England made the first punch here and couldn’t be happier to be a Patriot.
Q: Hey Julian. Curious if you know any history with the Patriots? Currently you’re going into a locker room with Joe Cardona, a long snapper who’s been there for a while. Any relationship there as well?
JA: We haven’t met or interacted in the past, but definitely a guy who I’ve watched a lot of tape on who paved the way for snappers and has had a great career. I’m excited to meet, work with, learn from and try to help the football team however I can. When I get up there, that’ll be the first time that we’ve met each other.
Q: Hey Julian, welcome to New England. I am curious how much you might know about New England’s history when it comes to special teams tradition, both kickers and returners? They’ve had great success by placing a real emphasis on special teams over the years. How familiar are you with that? How excited are you to be joining a franchise that puts such a premium on special teams?
JA: Yeah, even just in my lifetime, I’ve been able to see New England win a number of Super Bowls. A lot of those have been involving specialists who’ve been really consistent over the years. Certainly some great tradition and a lot of names there that I’d recognize if you threw them at me. It’s a high standard, which I think is a great expectation to walk into and looking forward to doing my part to keep the line of great specialists through New England going.
Q: Julian, what would you say makes a good snapper?
JA: I think for me, dependability’s always been the word, right? That’s staying healthy and staying available, but it’s also doing the job well so that a coach can worry about scheme and the rest of the game, rather than the actual operation of a punt or a kick or whatever it is that’s going on. Showing up every day, doing what I’m told and making my coaches, kicker and my punter’s job as easy as possible. If you can do that, then you can have success as a snapper.
Q: Hi Julian. Congratulations on getting drafted. I think if I understood you, you had some conversations with the Patriots. I’m curious what that was like talking, if you did, to Jeremy Springer? What’s your level of excitement of getting to work with him?
JA: Like I said, we had an opportunity to work out together and he pushed me hard. That’s what excites me about this opportunity. I know he’s a young and energetic coach, but he’s got a great resume and some really good experience. I know that I’ll be able to learn from him and develop really quickly. We’ll be ready to play football when the time comes. Super excited to work with Coach Springer.
Q: How did you start snapping?
JA: I started snapping my sophomore year of high school. Freshman year, I was playing quarterback and that was kind of my dream. I actually ended up punting a little bit freshman year too. Going into my sophomore year of high school was looking for a way to get on the bus and get on the field on varsity. We had an open tryout at snapper. I remember Coach [Roderick] Twyman, our running backs coach, he saw me try one and said, ‘You should probably keep practicing that. You might find a little bit of money to go to college and do this.’ My cousin had been a player at Parkview [High School] before me, Freddie. He said, ‘You can get an opportunity if you get good at it and stick with it.’ It was one of those things that I saw as the best way for me to help out my team through high school. I fell in love with it eventually and decided I might as well keep doing this in college. About eight years from when I started, here we are.
Q: What high school?
JA: Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. That’s where I grew up and that’s where I started playing ball and got my roots.
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