Ron Brace takes a breather during Friday's rookie mini-camp session.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

FOXBORO – Ron Brace’s entire football life has played out on a 90-mile line that stretches between Boston and Springfield, Mass.

He grew up in Springfield, moving to Worcester for high school. Boston College noticed him at Burncoat High, and he spent five years in Chestnut Hill.

Now another dot will be added to his pigskin timeline, this one west of Boston but east of Worcester – yet somehow still a world away from anything he’s experienced to this point: Foxboro.

The 6-foot-3, 330 pound defensive tackle was the 40th overall pick in the draft last weekend, with New England thinking enough of his skill that it moved up to acquire him, sending second-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to Oakland in order to gain his services.

Last weekend, surrounded by celebrating family members, Brace said he was left speechless by the opportunity to play for the team he has cheered for throughout his life.

But on Friday, after his first on-field workout as a member of the Patriots during the first full day of rookie mini-camp, Brace said reality had surpassed surprise.

“As soon as you come in you have to start getting your work in,” he said. “Coach [Bill] Belichick has emphasized that we have to work hard and work on our roles and try to become a better team.”

Brace mentioned finding his role several times, and from this perspective, his role will likely be as viable backup to Vince Wilfork at nose tackle. Mike Wright has been serviceable when called upon to anchor the middle of the defensive line, but he lacks the width that Wilfork and Brace have. Brace is also impressively strong, having bench pressed 225 pounds 32 times at the scouting combine (Wilfork hit 36).

Like most players making the transition to nose tackle, Brace will have to learn how to play two-gap, manning both sides of the center, and not the one-gap style most college defensive linemen succeed from.

To do that, he’ll lean heavily on position coach Pepper Johnson, whose booming on-field voice Brace heard for the first time during Friday’s pair of practice sessions.

“He’s not too far from our defensive line coach [at BC] by the name of Keith Willis. I think it’s going to be a good transition; [Johnson] also emphasizes you need to know your job and I think he’s going to help me,” Brace said. “As much as I want to get there and get that help from him, I have to go and get that help from him. I have to put in the effort if I want to get better, just every day go in and work.”

The former state champion shot putter has clearly grasped the concept of what is expected from him, in terms of putting his nose to the grindstone. He’s finished up his college classes, but the work has just begun for Brace.

“Defense in college is easier than it is in the NFL, so here you just have to put in more film-room work, on your own time reading that [playbook], whether it be making posters, quizzing your teammates. … People who are the difference-makers are the people that put in hard work,” he said.

Some people take a wandering path to get to their end point; for Brace, it all came in a straight line, from Springfield to Worcester to Boston to Foxboro.

smanza@projo.com