FOXBORO — In business, in life, in athletics, you often hear that to be the best you should learn from the best.

If that's true, Darius Butler couldn't have a better mentor than Deion Sanders.

Sanders sought out Butler during his senior season at UConn, a thrill for the young man who had grown up watching the two-sport athlete known as "Prime Time" shut down NFL receivers and roam the outfield for a handful of Major League teams.

During this weekend's rookie mini-camp, the New England Patriots' draft pick selected 41st overall, said Sanders contacted Huskies head coach Randy Edsall and asked for Butler's phone number.

In the months since, Butler has worked under the tutelage of the future Hall of Famer, and remains in near-daily contact with Sanders.

"Most people have this view of him, but away from the cameras, he's a completely different dude," Butler said after Saturday's morning practice. "He's definitely a hard worker."

Sanders invited Butler and a number of other potential draft picks, including Emmanuel Cook, Captain Munnerlyn and Michael Crabtree to Carrollton, Texas to take part in a training camp he called "Prime U." With Sanders' name attached and NFL Combine sponsor Under Armour involved, the sessions were also something of a reality show, with a broadcast on NFL Network.

But Butler said the cameras were easy to get used to, and he learned a great deal from the formerly flashy star who is now more spiritual and enjoys mentoring young players. Sanders also brought in a couple of his former teammates, Kevin Mathis and Omar Stoutmire, to teach.

"He taught us to be selective with your circle, be careful who you let in your life, be smart with your money and learn to say ‘no,'" Butler recounted. Prime U. participants also took part in Bible study in addition to their on-field work and life lessons.

"We worked every day as far as technique, footwork, how important it is to study the game because athletic ability can only get you so far," he added.

Sanders sends Butler daily text messages, the rookie said, with messages of inspiration, and on the first day of the draft told him not to worry. Though Butler rose on the draft boards of many observers, and was projected by some to be claimed by New England with their initial spot at 23rd overall, which they eventually traded out of.

When the Patriots did call him, Sanders told Butler it was a good place to end up.

"He told me it's a great situation, a great team, a great scheme for me and it couldn't work out too much better," he said.

Though he and the rest of New England's rookies have been going through a crash course since arriving at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, and even though they aren't practicing in pads, Butler is happy to be back to playing the game rather than prepping for it.

"It's been three or four months, and I'm away from the Combine, pro days — it's football," Butler said.

Even in shorts and a jersey, it was easy to get a sense of Butler's athleticism during the mini-camp practices. He covered the receivers well and got his hands on a few passes. Bill Belichick was understandingly cautious when speaking of his expectations for Butler.

"Darius has a lot going for him, of course — a good athlete, had a terrific college career, was used in a variety of different roles at the University of Connecticut and had shown good skills," Belichick said. "But getting ready to compete against the receivers and other DBs on our team — he has a long way to go to get to that point. But hopefully each day, each practice, he will get a little bit closer to it, and when we get to spring camps and the training camp in July, he will be ready to do that. My expectation for all of the rookies is that by training camp they'll be ready to compete on this team with the other players."

Butler met veteran free-agent signees Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden on Friday, but interestingly, Butler knows nearly as much about the Pats' playbook at this point as they do. Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite — just one year removed from being rookies themselves — have the most experience in New England's system.