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March 29, 2024

Nevada native Kyle Van Noy making impact after trade to the Patriots

BYU graduate looks to add Super Bowl ring to collection

Kyle Van Noy NE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New England Patriots outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy before an NFL football game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Sunday, Nov. 17, 2016.

On his first day of practice as a member of the Patriots three months ago, linebacker Kyle Van Noy thought he was about to do something only two opposing players have managed against New England all season.

The Reno native and BYU graduate thought he was going to intercept a Tom Brady pass fresh off a flight from Detroit after the Lions traded him for a sixth-round draft pick. Van Noy jumped running back James White’s wheel route and began picturing the memorable first impression he was poised to leave.

“I was like, ‘There’s no way he got this in,’” Van Noy recalled. “It whizzed by my ear, I think it skimmed off my helmet ... I turned around, and (Brady) just looked at me like, ‘You’re new. That’s how I deal.’”

Van Noy evened the score later on at practice by snatching a pick — just not off Brady. He intercepted a pass from backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but it gave him a confidence boost all the same as Van Noy references it as the moment when he started feeling comfortable with the Patriots.

He’s only gotten more comfortable, as evidenced by the Patriots’ 36-17 victory over the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago when Van Noy racked up four tackles and a forced fumble. The lone Nevada native in this year’s Super Bowl will rotate in frequently when the Patriots take on the Falcons at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

“I feel like I was drafted here,” Van Noy said. “That’s kind of the culture they’ve embraced with me, and I feel very fortunate to be in a situation like this.”

The bonds he’s formed with teammates and coaches, particularly defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and linebackers coach Brian Flores, in a short time remind him of his days at Reno’s McQueen High. Van Noy called high school coach Ken Dalton, who passed away in 2013, “his hero.”

Van Noy was the star of the 2008 McQueen team that defeated Palo Verde in the state championship and can still rattle off play calls from the victory and detail how they turned out.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday,” he said. “I’ll never forget that moment, and I’m trying to create another one here.”

Van Noy was a part of the last team to win a state championship before Bishop Gorman’s current run of eight straight titles.

“I can’t stand Bishop Gorman, man,” Van Noy said. “Forget them guys. I don’t want to talk about them.”

Van Noy has been voluble on almost everything else leading up to the Super Bowl, including murmurs from earlier this season that he might be a bust. Van Noy earned All-American honors while at BYU, leading the Lions to take him in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

But he never quite panned out in Detroit. He’s now on track to be regarded as another example of a successful Patriots reclamation project.

“I had a hard two and a half years,” Van Noy said. “I took a lot of heat from you guys; I took a lot of heat in general. I think finally playing well is showing people like, ‘Maybe we should have waited just a little bit longer.’”

From the beginning of the season, Van Noy maintained he would have a breakout year. He just never expected it would come for a team other than the Lions.

Van Noy was stunned when Detroit general manager Bob Quinn informed him of the trade midway through the season, but now at the end, he’s thankful.

“The timing was confusing,” Van Noy said. “I thought I was playing decent, but I am here now and I’m blessed to be here. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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