Defensive lineman John Cominsky’s mountainous climb from Division II Charleston (W.Va) to the NFL was too steep last season.
He did what he could in 2019, but after an offseason of reflection and introspection, he returned to Flowery Branch and has been undeniably the star of the Falcons’ training camp, which concluded with the last practice Wednesday.
Over the course of the camp delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, general manager Thomas Dimitroff, coach Dan Quinn and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett have sung from the same hymnal while praising Cominsky.
“He just looks like a different ballplayer to us,” Quinn said.
Dimitroff said, “He’s taken a complete leap, I think and our team thinks.”
Cominsky is tabbed to play defensive end against the run and defensive tackle in passing situations.
“Last year I kind of did the same thing,” Cominsky said. “It was kind of a rough go at it.”
Cominsky dominated in Division II and that led to him being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft.
He played 63 defensive snaps (6.7%) and 28 special-teams snaps (7%) in eight games last season before he sustained a high ankle sprain. He had six tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. Overall, he played 102 defensive snaps (9.7%) last season.
Cominsky was inactive for six games with the injury.
“The biggest thing is that I have a whole year of experience,” Cominsky said. “We had a lot of times to ourselves. It was a lot of time to reflect, sit down and think about some of the experiences I’ve had.
“Some of the mistakes I made and what I did good. I had a lot of time to think about it. Then kind of get it into a simple format in my head so that when I came in here I was confident and very precise about what I was doing, very specific about my movements. My head is not scattered, kind of like it was last year.”
Cominsky, a native of Barberton, Ohio, spent most of the offseason at home around family and friends.
“I’m a lot more fine-tuned,” Cominsky said. “I credit it to a lot of time off and being able to think and reflect on the season.”
Cominsky focused on the bad and the good things he accomplished as a rookie.
“The bad, it was really simple,” Cominsky said. “It’s not really a big complex formula. It was, I over-thought things last year. I was trying to do everything right. I was still learning the system. I feel like I was scatter-brain. I feel like I played with a millisecond of hesitation. That was a big thing that I wanted to get out of it.”
There were some positive things for Cominsky to learn from.
“The good was thinking about all of the practices and the film and seeing where it looked like I was being me,” Cominsky said. “I was just trying to reflect and remember the mindset that I had then. It really just comes down to keeping it simple and having confidence in what you are doing, making your mistakes at hundred miles an hour.”
Cominsky, who’s 6-foot-5, tried to add some bulk and is up to 290 pounds. He retained his speed and agility.
“Being 290 down inside, you can handle those double-teams between those guards and tackles,” Cominsky said. “So, I think it’s a perfectly balanced weight for being able to handle those double-teams and have speed on the edge.”
With the offseason program going virtual, the thinking and reflecting also was a major part of the offseason for Cominsky.
“Am I going to look better on the football field?” Cominsky said. “Is all of the stuff I’m doing going to pay off?”
Jarrett said the difference between Cominsky is “night and day.”
“When you start to hear it and get that feedback from the coaches, it’s very comforting and reassuring that all of the time that I put in, all those hours and mornings that I didn’t want to get up this offseason, the obstacles that I had to fight around, just kind of reassured me that I was doing the right thing,” Cominsky said. “I did something to make a difference in me as a player.”
After the injury, Cominsky played in the final two games. He played more 28 snaps against Tampa Bay in the regular-season finale. He had four tackles and a pass breakup.
“I feel that was my best game,”Cominsky said. “I really just let it rip.”
It was an easy decision for Cominsky to come back and play.
“I had the frustration of my ankle all season long,” Cominsky said. “I told myself, those last two games, any opportunities that I get, I’m leaving it all on the field. So yeah, that was a lot of good momentum going into the offseason.
“The coaches were really happy with how I played in that last game. They said just bring that to the table every game next season. I just kind of sealed that in my head and used it as momentum coming into training camp this year.”
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