For the team, though, it's a tiny piece of a large mosaic puzzle. And not even necessarily one of those defining edge pieces, but a non-descript interior portion of the big picture. But also one without which the final puzzle cannot be fully completed.

"I don't think you are trying to prove or disprove anything," Caserio says at the airline gate, describing the goal of private workouts. "You have an inclination of where you are based on what you've seen from this point. So you are really looking for affirmation or maybe it uncovers something that you need to dig a little bit further on. We didn't have the information or something else has come up. So it forces you to go back and maybe just make sure what we have is correct. Do we have the right information so that we can make the correct evaluation of the player? And not base it on something that we are not sure of."

It's a part of the process. And the process has been successful in New England over the years. No team nails every pick. Not every piece of pre-draft information is correct. Not every prospect drafted ends up being exactly what the team was expecting. But the more information you have, and the more proprietary information you have in the puzzle, the better chance of making the right call.

"I enjoy going out, spending time with the players, getting to work with them in a one-on-one basis on the field," Caserio says of the private workout trail across America each spring. "And when you can actually get hands on and be immersed in the process you can see how they react to your coaching style or the coaching points. Can they apply what you are telling them? So I love it. I enjoy every aspect of the process. It's just what we do. I look forward to it as much as anybody."

Maybe the lone downside on the road to success is the road part, which includes a sometimes hectic travel schedule each March and April. But, as his boss might say, it is what it is.

"The hardest part is being away from my family. But they understand this is the time of year when things get ramped up a bit more because you have less time and you want to make sure you get everything correct so you can make the right decision for the organization," Caserio said.

With that he boarded a plane back to Boston and his Gillette Stadium office. But he wouldn't be there long. There were more trips on the horizon to so-called college football factories and small schools alike. More prospects to be worked out as the days to the 2016 NFL draft drew fewer.

Hundreds of NFL hopefuls need to be boiled down to the potential 11 picks the team might make on draft weekend or the undrafted players it might sign afterward.

This trip, to this SEC school, was complete, though. Four more players had additional potentially key information for their scouting report.

But, the work is never done.

Oh, and Scarnecchia now knows the history of at least one SEC school to add to his endless store of knowledge. A successful trip all around.