Banks glides through first practice with Falcons

“It was real good today, to get out there,” Banks said. “I’ve been in film for the last two weeks and to finally get a chance to get out there and finally put the knowledge that we’ve been putting on paper out onto the field was a really good experience for the first time.”

The rookie minicamp runs through Sunday.

“It was a really fast pace,” Banks said. “I made a lot of good moves. I made some mistakes, so adjustments will be made.”

Banks lined up at middle linebacker. The Falcons like to cross train their linebackers at the weakside and strongside positions, but Banks said he’s most comfortable in the middle.

After the morning practice in the team’s indoor facility, Banks was eager to watch film of the workout.

“Now, we have something actually on film to look at ourselves,” Banks said. “We’ll go back and diagnose it. The most important thing is to not make consistent errors. We want to go in and fix things and then re-adjust.”

Banks, who a prep All-American who’d committed to USC before being wrongfully sent to prison, had some workouts for pro teams last season.

“After the initial workouts that I had with the several teams last year I’ve had plenty of opportunities to go back and properly get into the playbook and (learn) the X’s and O’s,” Banks said. “I definitely feel comfortable with the knowledge that has been given to us and me being able to (replicate) it on the field.”

Banks said he can sense that his football instincts are coming back.

“I’m starting to be able to see things a lot faster than I was a year ago, for sure,” Banks said.

After the long time away from football there were clearly some concerns.

“I think it was more of the physical (nature),” Banks said. “It was of me being able to keep up with the tempo of the game. That’s not a problem.”