Devin McCourty already has praise for a Patriots rookie early in training camp

August 19, 2020 | 10:22 AM

The Bruins face the Hurricanes today at 4 p.m. in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first round series. Boston holds a 3-1 lead and can eliminate Carolina with a win.

The Celtics play the 76ers in Game 2 this evening at 6:30 p.m., looking to extend their 1-0 series lead.

The Red Sox, currently mired in a nine-game losing streak following yesterday’s 13-6 loss to the Phillies, face Philadelphia against today at 1:35 p.m.

Also of note was the news on Tuesday that fans won’t be allowed back into Gillette Stadium for either Revolution or Patriots games until at least the end of September due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Devin McCourty’s thoughts on Kyle Dugger: Now entering his 11th NFL season, Patriots safety Devin McCourty is one of the elder statesmen of the defense. He’s helped direct a secondary that’s contributed to three Super Bowl wins since he was selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft.

Given his perspective, it’s no surprise that McCourty was asked about Patriots rookie Kyle Dugger. Dugger, a fellow safety who was New England’s top pick in 2020 (taken in the second round), appears to be settling in with his new team.

“I just think it’s been good,” McCourty told Patriots reporters about Dugger’s first days in training camp. “I’m always excited when you get new rookies in and guys that are eager to learn. And he’s been like that. I shared some messages with him before we even started, just talking to him about the defense, about being a professional a little bit. But he’s been like that.”

McCourty, who also complimented another rookie defensive back, Myles Bryant, said that both players have shown themselves to be eager learners.

“We try to quiz them, we try to ask them questions to catch them off-guard,” McCourty added. “They answer them. You can tell they’re both going home and studying at night, making sure that they’re prepared. I think when you see that, you see guys doing that, it shows up on the field. Obviously they’re far from perfect. But it shows up the times that they get things right. Sometimes it’s some of the more advanced stuff, but you can tell they’re putting in the work, they’re trying to learn from everybody in our meeting rooms, whether it’s myself, whether it’s [Jason McCourty] or [Stephon Gilmore], trying to give them a coaching point from our experience. You can tell those guys are hanging on to it like a sponge.”

Dugger intercepted Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham during a practice session. So far, he has been able to work with each of the team’s veteran safeties in camp.

“But Dugg’s been really good,” said McCourty. “I think any time you can get in there with a guy and just play together and talk to him and learn how we play and play off each other, it’s been really good. And he’s got a chance to play with all of our safeties so far. So we’ve just have to keep building that. Second day of pads, we’re not in here doing a bunch of scheme stuff. More of that will come day-by-day. And I think as a veteran on the team, it’s just making sure he can stay ahead and continue to improve in training camp.”

Trivia: Former Celtic (and current Boston playoff opponent) Al Horford was part of a back-t0-back national championship-winning University of Florida team from 2006-2007. Two of his college teammates are also still in the NBA. Can you name them?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: Both of them were top-10 picks like Horford.

More from Boston.com:

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This is the first time both No. 8 seeds have defeated the No. 1 seeds in Game 1 of their respective first-round playoff series since the 2002-03 season. pic.twitter.com/Iyex4gKzgN

— NBA (@NBA) August 19, 2020

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Manny Machado in deep right field…. HOW?!?!#FriarFaithful | @Padres pic.twitter.com/GhytiUAKlD

— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) August 18, 2020

Trivia answer: Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah.