Richard was a seventh-round pick of the Patriots in April. (AP)

WEEI.com has confirmed a report the Patriots and seventh-round draft pick Darryl Richard have agreed on a four-year contract. Richard, a defensive lineman out of Georgia Tech, was the 234th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

The news was first reported by Chris Gasper of The Boston Globe.

According to a league source, Richard signed a “pretty standard four-year deal. Nothing too out of the ordinary.” No numbers were disclosed, but multiple sources indicate he received a signing bonus of roughly $48,000. (By way of comparison, wide receiver Sammie Stroughter of Oregon State — who was taken by Tampa Bay at No. 233, one pick ahead of Richard — received a four-year deal for $1.798 million with a $48,270 signing bonus.)

Richard becomes the fourth rookie to sign a deal with New England — second-round pick Darius Butler, fourth-round selection Rich Ohrnberger and sixth-round pick Myron Pryor have all signed contracts. Another second-rounder, Sebastian Vollmer, has a preliminary agreement in place with the Patriots, and is expected to sign a deal of his own shortly.

The 6-foot-3, 303-pound Richard turned 23 last month. He was a three-year starter at Georgia Tech, he was named second-team all-ACC with 10 tackles for loss and four sacks in 2008. In all, Richard played in 51 games during his five-year college career (he was a medical redshirt for a torn ACL as a sophomore) and finished with 98 tackles — including 32 for a loss — and 12.5 quarterback sacks.

Known as one of the finest student-athletes in America, he certainly drew the admiration of his coach at Georgia Tech, Chan Gailey.

“It would be an understatement to say he is extremely smart,” Gailey told reporters in 2007. “You sit down and have a conversation with him and he is mature way beyond his years. I’ve said before, I’m not so sure he couldn’t be president one day.”

“He’s tough, he’s smart, he works hard,” said Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio when asked about Richard earlier this spring. “We’ll put him in the mix and see how he does.”