Hightower’s status as team leader locked up
LB earns prime spot in Pats dressing room
FOXBORO — By appearance, Dont’a Hightower’s locker is no different than the 77 stalls around it.
But appearance and perception are incomparable entities in this case. Hightower now resides in Bill Belichick’s most valued real estate in the team locker room at Gillette Stadium, taking up a spot that originally was owned by 2015 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Willie McGinest and most recently by seven-time captain Jerod Mayo.
Hightower’s new locker is about 6 feet from a set of gray double doors that serve as the most highly trafficked area for every player on the team. A left through the doors leads down a long hallway toward the players’ parking lot. Go straight through the doors and wind up in the auditorium that is utilized for daily full-squad meetings. Go right and take the route to the game or practice fields.
Each player passes through at least a half-dozen times per day, and thus must stroll past Hightower. The Alabama product is there because he is as popular as anyone on the roster, being able to relate to the 30-somethings who care solely about football as well as the rookies who prefer talking trash about Madden and NBA 2K.
It’s also Hightower’s spot because the fifth-year linebacker is one of the Pats’ greatest leaders, and he naturally commands respect because of his fierce dedication to the team’s bottom line. Hightower, who should be voted a firsttime captain in the coming weeks, can hold everyone accountable because he has the same standards for himself. So no player wants to walk by Hightower on their way to practice or a meeting or most certainly home without putting in his own honest effort.
“He is able to sit down and have a conversation with anyone,” Mayo said. “There’s not an area where he can’t communicate, offense, defense, special teams. He can talk about it all.”
McGinest, who jokingly gets referred to as Hightower’s big brother because of their resemblance, likes the fit for the younger linebacker.
“They see Dont’a as a
‘They see Dont’a as a throwback player. He just loves football, engulfs it.’ — WILLIE McGINEST (below) On Dont’a Hightower (right)
throwback player. He just loves football, engulfs it. You can talk football with him,” said McGinest, who now works as an analyst for NFL Network. “He’s likeable. He is a great kid.”
McGinest essentially wound up in the locker by coincidence when Gillette opened in 2002, as former equipment manager Don Brocher assigned the players in numerical order. Tedy Bruschi, who wore No. 54, took the left side of the door while McGinest (No. 55) resided to the right.
Because they did such a good job of policing the room, McGinest and Bruschi remained in their locker locations through the years as the personnel changed around them, and Belichick liked the idea of keeping his leaders on top of the foot traffic.
“I kind of fell into it, and then I started to understand it. I was somebody who (Belichick) felt being responsible and accountable,” McGinest said. “And now it’s become a thing, the locker, who is in that locker and who you are. If you’re coming in late, if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, you’ve got to walk by those guys every single day before and after practice. Nine times out of 10, in my days there, I would say something to somebody if I didn’t feel like they were doing enough or we had issues. Plus, I was a captain. They would have to pass that locker. They’d have to deal with it right there. They couldn’t avoid those lockers.”
McGinest held the spot through 2005, but the symbolism of the stall waned until Mayo arrived in 2008. Almost by default, Mayo restored the legacy, and he commanded respect immediately upon his arrival. For example, the veterans even asked Mayo to walk into Belichick’s office to ask if they could practice without pads on days when they needed to throttle it down.
Mayo wasn’t the same type of leader as McGinest, who had some wellknown altercations with unruly teammates. But there was no doubt in regard to Mayo’s standing in the locker room.
“I knew the history of the locker,” Mayo said. “The thing that makes New England so special is everyone is always uncomfortable. You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, if that makes sense. Until you’re comfortable being uncomfortable, you can’t play in New England. Being in that locker, everyone has to walk past that area to get to the squad meeting room, so you talk to a lot of guys. You joke around a lot. You just try to lighten the mood.”
Hightower has grown into that role through the years, as far back as 2013 when Mayo’s torn pectoral muscle thrust the 2012 first-round pick into a more prominent role. But Hightower also cited that time as a key period in his development as a player.
He admittedly tried to do too much midway through the 2013 season and endured the most difficult stretch of his career.
“I learned my lesson a couple years ago when Mayo went down, trying not to be myself and be somebody else,” Hightower said. “As far as leadership goes, I lead different than Willie did, and I’ll lead different than Mayo did. I’ll approach things the way I feel they should be approached. I’m not going to step outside my comfort zone to emulate those two big guys.”
Hightower already had preferred status at Gillette, so there’s no pressure to change. His teammates cite his violent playing style as a reason to follow his lead, and they’re also impressed with the way Hightower
‘He makes everything run. He’s a true lead-by-example guy.’ — S DEVIN McCOURTY On LB Dont’a Hightower
commands the defensive huddle, takes the play calls from coordinator Matt Patricia and gets everyone into place with checks before each snap.
“He makes everything run,” five-time captain Devin McCourty said. “High is a true lead-by-example guy. He’s not a big talker. You know what you’re going to get out of him every Sunday he goes out there. He’s hitting guys. He’s always physical.”
It’s been said for a few years Hightower knows every player’s assignment on every play, and Mayo thinks he could be a coach after his playing days. The Patriots recognize his consistent chats with Patricia, either in an office or on the sideline at practice, as the means to that intrepid understanding of the entire defense. Hightower also takes the blame if a teammate misses a call or check, too, so they appreciate his accountability.
The former Alabama captain wouldn’t be such a tremendous leader if he weren’t worthy of that loyal following. As a rookie, Hightower impressed his teammates by learning from veterans’ mistakes on film rather than by needing to mess up on the field to learn firsthand.
Now, the bottom line is the Patriots’ third-longesttenured defensive player is one of their greatest stars and toughest performers. Big-time leaders can’t be all talk and no substance, and he shined with a Super Bowl-saving tackle against Marshawn Lynch despite playing with a torn shoulder labrum. Last season, Hightower played on a sprained MCL for about two months.
It’d make sense for Hightower to join McCourty and Rob Ninkovich as defensive captains when the Patriots vote in a couple weeks. After all, Belichick has already tabbed Hightower as the anchor of the locker room, just like two great leaders before him.
“I think it’s cool what Bill Belichick did to putting guys into positions of leadership and anointing guys after all the hard work and sacrifices,” McGinest said. “He created that. He created the atmosphere within the locker room.
“And now it means something to the guys who are in that situation. I think it’s pretty special.”