WEEI.com has learned the Patriots and second-round draft pick Sebastian Vollmer have preliminarily agreed on a contract. Vollmer, an offensive lineman out of the University of Houston, was the 58th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

If the deal is signed, the 24-year-old Vollmer would be the fourth of New England’s 12 draft picks to agree to a contract — fellow second-round pick Darius Butler, fourth-round selection Rich Ohrnberger and sixth-round pick Myron Pryor are all reportedly in the fold.

A 6-foot-7, 312-pounder, Vollmer — nicknamed “Sea Bass” — is one of the most unique picks in franchise history. A native of Germany, he did not start playing football until he was 14 years old, but would go on to help his German school win a pair of national football titles. At Houston, he started as a tight end before making the switch to left tackle, where he would develop into a All-Conference USA first teamer as a senior.

He likely projects as a left or right tackle in the NFL.

“Vollmer is a big offensive tackle. He’s played both sides,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said shortly after he was selected by the Patriots. “He’s played left side and also played right side at the East-West game.”

2 Comments for “Pats, Vollmer reach preliminary agreement on contract”

1. Pats Fan Says:
   July 16th, 2009 at 8:18 pm

   Nice! A big guy on the O-Line is always a good thing, especially with QB coming back from injury.

2. Frank Says:
   July 20th, 2009 at 5:18 am

   I hope he is going to be the first German native to get playing time in the modern NFL. But I need to correct one aspect. His school never won any football titles. It doesn´t even have a team. His “high school” stats are from the junior team of the sixfold German champion Duesseldorf Panthers. In Germany school do not run nearly-professioanl sports teams.

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