Three former Georgia Tech players, wide receiver TaQuon Marshall, defensive tackle Desmond Branch and safety Jalen Johnson, are set to receive a tryout with the Falcons during their rookie minicamp, which runs Friday through Sunday.
Marshall is trying to take the same quarterback-to-receiver route that Tech great Justin Thomas has attempted. Thomas spent parts of the 2017 season on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and played with the Atlanta Legends in the now defunct AAF. Perhaps the most successful recent example of the switch is New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who was a quarterback at Kent State.
Marshall has received position training from Charles Collins, perhaps best noted for coaching NFL greats Chad Johnson and Steve Smith in junior college.
Vanderbilt tight tend Sam Dobbs (Landmark Christian High, Douglasville), Mercer tight end Sam Walker (South Forsyth High, Cumming), Jacksonville State defensive tackle Connor Christian (East Paulding High, Dallas), Wake Forest defensive tackle Willie Yarbary (Richmond Academy, Augusta) Syracuse linebacker Ryan Gutherie (West Forsyth, Cumming), Central Florida linebacker Pat Jasinski (Blessed Trinity, Roswell), Georgia Southern safety Sean Freeman (Peach County, Fort Valley) and Georgia Southern center Curtis Rainey all have local ties.
Here’s the list of the tryout players:
QUARTERBACK
9 Eli Dunne, 6-foot-5, 238, Rookie, Northern Iowa, Grinnell, Iowa
RUNNING BACKS
30 Tony Brooks-James, 5-9, 190, R, Oregon, Gainesville, Fla.
33 John Santiago, 5-9, 187, R, North Dakota, Andover, Minn.
WIDE RECEIVERS
88 Shun Brown, 5-10, 188, R, Arizona, Shreveport, La.
4 TaQuon Marshall, 5-10, 180, R, Georgia Tech, Hamilton
TIGHT ENDS
84 Sam Dobbs, 6-4, 230, R, Vanderbilt, Douglasville
86 Jackson Harris, 6-6, 250, R, Georgia, Columbia, Tenn.
47 Logan Scott, 6-5, 250, R, Alabama-Birmingham, Purvis, Miss.
46 Sam Walker, 6-4, 242, R, Mercer, Cumming
OFFENSIVE LINE
66 Tyler Bowling, 6-6, 327, R, Tulsa, Yukon, Okla.
54 Tyler Jordan, 6-4, 321, R, Florida, Jacksonville, Fla.
56 Jake Largay, 6-4, 325, R, Massachusetts, East Harland, Conn.
52 Curtis Rainey, C, 6-2, 290, R, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Fla.
DEFENSIVE LINE
71 Jordan Bradford, DT, 6-2, 288, R, Louisiana Tech, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
90 Desmond Branch, DE, 6-3, 270, R, Georgia Tech, Rio Ranco, N.M.
73 Connor Christian, DT, 6-3, 270, R, Jacksonville State, Dallas, Ga.
66 Ross Donelly, DT, 6-1, 309, R, Mississippi, Houston
72 Preston Gordon, DT, 6-1, 280, R, Texas Tech, McKinney, Texas
75 Alec Heldreth, DT, 6-4, 270, R, Clarion, Clanfield, Ohio
53 DaVondrick Lison, DE, 6-2, 235, R, Southern Arkansas, Arkansas City, Ark.
91 Derrick Tate, DE, 6-3, 210, R, Bowie State, Baltimore
62 Willie Yarbary, DT, 6-2, 285, R, Wake Forest, Augusta
LINEBACKERS
41 Eric Bowie, 6-2, 225, R, Jacksonville State, Monroe, La.
47 Ryan Gutherie, 6-2, 224, R, Syracuse, Cumming
51 Pat Jasinski, LB, 6-1, 236, R, Central Florida, Roswell
DEFENSIVE BACKS
34 Dawson Brown, S, 6-3, 217, R, Bethel, Becker, Minn.
35 Sean Freeman, S, 6-0, 190, R, Georgia Southern, Fort Valley
38 Jalen Johnson, S, 6-3, 215, R, Georgia Tech, Oneonta, Ala.
40 A.J. Westbrook, S, 6-0, 190, R, Florida State, Daytona Beach, Fla.
SPECIALISTS
3 Lester Coleman, P, 6-5, 245, R, Virginia, Martinsville, Va.
1 Erik Powell, K, 6-1, 201, 1 year, Washington State, Vancouver, Wash.
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