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Falcons Rookie Minicamp Obversations: Day 1


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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Naturally, all eyes were on first-round draft pick Vic Beasley as the Atlanta Falcons held their first rookie minicamp practice Friday.

The former Clemson pass rusher, decked in the No. 44 jersey he said represented being the eighth-overall pick (4 + 4 = 8), certainly looked the part during the brief period open to the media.

Beasley reflected on his first day on the field.

"It felt good," Beasley said. "I'm just glad to be out here getting accustomed to my teammates. Just ready to get going. ... I thought I did pretty well. Got to work with a couple of guys that will eventually be my teammates. Just ready to get started and see what Coach [Dan] Quinn has in store."

Quinn offered his first-day impressions of Beasley.

"I thought Vic did a good job," Quinn said. "You can certainly see that first-step quickness. We probably had balance between the runs and the pass today. For everybody in a new system, lots to learn. But I thought he did a really good job picking it up."

Here are some other observations from Day 1 of rookie minicamp:

Although second-round pick Jalen Collins sat out coming off right foot surgery, the former LSU cornerback stayed focused throughout practice while absorbing instruction from secondary coach Marquand Manuel. At one point, Manuel, a long-time NFL defensive back, stood in front of Collins displaying a press-coverage technique. As for Collins' status, Quinn said the team just wants him to be 100 percent and expects him ready by training camp. Collins is long and skinny but vowed to be physical, too.

Speaking of the coaches, they are really engaged with the players. Quinn was involved in the drills and was caught on video demonstrating footwork to cornerback Akeem King, one of the team's seventh-round draft picks. While the defensive backs were stretching, Manuel got into his stance and moved around in the same manner he expected them to. And linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich fist-bumped every single linebacker as they stretched. Video of King and Quinn is below.

Outspoken defensive line coach Bryan Cox already found a few candidates for his verbal assaults. He got on defensive tackle Chris Brown for walking away from a huddle of defensive linemen too early. Cox constantly rode defensive tackle Joey Mbu about his hand placement. It was nothing, however, compared to the lashing Cox gave Ra'Shede Hageman and Donte "Cupcake" Rumph last year.

Running back Tevin Coleman might have been the only player to wear compression gear under his shorts. It likely had something to do with the toe surgery Coleman had prior to the draft, although he showed no ill-effects while speeding through drills.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, the team's fifth-round pick who reportedly signed his contract on Friday, put at least one guy on the ground during two-on-1 defensive line drills. No wonder Quinn singled Jarrett out as a player with "grit."

Quinn promised music would be continuous during practice. Some of the artists featured included Michael Jackson, Outkast, Drake and Big Sean, with some classic rock and R&B slow jams sprinkled in. Give 6-foot-4-inch, 314-pound defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli credit for showing off the best dance moves.

Quinn said undrafted safety Terell Floyd from Louisville was taken to the hospital as a precaution after suffering from dehydration. It did not appear to be a serious matter.

http://espn.go.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/13306/falcons-rookie-minicamp-obversations-day-1

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Quinn seems to be working personally with every defensive position group, and, in general, all of our coaching staff seems very hands on and motivated. Marquad Manuel and Jeff Ulbrich in particular have both been really impressing me.

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Quinn seems to be working personally with every defensive position group, and, in general, all of our coaching staff seems very hands on and motivated. Marquad Manuel and Jeff Ulbrich in particular have both been really impressing me.

Ulbrich is definitely a passionate/emotional dude. I remember at a UCLA game he got into it with Mora Jr pretty good, you kind of have to love the irony there hahaha. Not surprising that he's very involved, seems to be the theme with this coaching staff in general.

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