Falcons’ draft pick from Marist has future in medicine

Flowery Branch — The Falcons made an impressive pick with their fifth-round choice and not just for his football. William Middleton, a 5-10 cornerback from Norcross, has a backup plan if this NFL thing doesn’t work out: a career in medicine.

Middleton graduated from Furman with a degree in biology last May and took the MCAT, the medical college admission test, in June. He returned to Furman last fall to take graduate classes and finish out his eligibility in football.

He planned to apply to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, the Medical College of Georgia and Howard.

“I tried to set up a fallback plan in case the NFL doesn’t work out for me,” said Middleton, who won a state championship his senior year at Marist. “People are always going to get sick. That’s not going anywhere. The NFL is something you can’t just pass on.”

Middleton was not invited to the NFL combine but watched it closely on flat-screen TVs at XPE Sports, the gym where he works out in Roswell.

“More than sulking or getting upset, I wanted to show that I should have been there,” he said.

Middleton visited a handful of teams, including Indianapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, and the New York Giants.

He called it a blessing to get drafted by his hometown Falcons. He has never been to Flowery Branch but remembers well the days when the Falcons trained at Furman.

“I remember seeing the Falcons walk back and forth,” Middleton said. “They took our locker room at training camp; we were dressing outside.”

Middleton was playing Wii tennis with some friends at his parents’ house in Norcross and eating hot wings when the call came.

Owens’ height

Chris Owens’ height — he’s 5-foot-9 — is likely what kept the Falcons’ third-round pick from being drafted higher. At times, the cornerback struggled against bigger receivers.

He tries to use his speed and quickness to make up for any size disadvantage.

“It’s all about positioning,” said Owens, who has a 35 1/2-inch vertical jump. “If I’m in position, I can compete for the ball at the highest point. I’ve been playing against bigger wideouts. That’s been a knock on me in the past, but I’m ready for that right now.”

He played in the Western Athletic Conference at San Jose State but still faced some pro level competition.

He was teammates at San Jose State with Green Bay wide receiver James Jones and went against him in practice. He played against Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson at Kansas State.

“I picked off [Tampa’s first-round pick at quarterback] Josh Freeman when we played Kansas State,” Owens said. “I played well against Nelson.”

Jerry idolizes Sapp

Falcons first-round pick Peria Jerry tries to pattern himself after former All-Pro tackle Warren Sapp for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jerry’s coach for three years at Ole Miss was Ed Orgeron, who coached Sapp as an assistant at the University of Miami.

“I came in and Coach O had this stack of tapes on his desk and he was like ‘Peria, they’re for you,’ ” Perry said. “They were all of Warren Sapp. I took them and ran with them. I learned a lot from them. It helped better my game ….

“I always liked the way he played the game, the way he took over a game.”

Draft pick introductions

The Falcons’ top two draft picks were flown in Saturday night and met with team officials at Flowery Branch on Sunday. After a morning news conference, defensive tackle Peria Jerry and safety William Moore were given tours of the complex, met with coaches, and were introduced to Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Jerry and Moore had met each other at the Senior Bowl and played together on the South team.

Staff writer D. Orlando Ledbetter contributed to this article.