Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, the team’s first-round draft pick who’s slated to start, can’t participate in OTAs, per league rules, because the University of Washington has not held its graduation ceremony.
Tight end Levine Toilolo, a fourth-round pick from Stanford, also can’t participate. Both are expected to become available in time for the team’s mandatory minicamp, June 18-20.
Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is concerned that Trufant, who attended the rookie minicamp in May, may fall behind.
“But I will say this, one of the reasons that we did draft him is that he is a very bright individual,” Nolan said. “With our need at corner, we were hoping to get somebody who could come in and contribute early, and hopefully he can do that.”
Trufant is allowed to contact secondary coach Tim Lewis, and the team is using Skype as a way to use video conferences to include him in meetings.
“Obviously, you’d like for them to be here, but he’s going to be graduating and walking with his class, which is an important milestone in his life,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I think it’s a good rule. He’s going to miss some opportunities on the field, but we’ve got a plan in place that we’ve been executing. There are a lot of ways that you can communicate with technology now in terms of having meetings.”
Smith is confident that Trufant is getting the mental part of the defensive scheme.
“It’s just the physical part and the bonding part of being here with the rest of his teammates,” Smith said. “He comes from a line of football players, so he knows what it’s all about. He’s a very mature guy. We’ll get him here as soon as the rule allows.”
The Falcons elected to part ways with three of their top five cornerbacks from last season over the offseason. They used their top two picks in the draft to select Trufant and Robert Alford (second round).
Both figure in the team’s plans.
“Robert Alford is doing an excellent job,” Nolan said. “As far as Desmond goes, it puts him behind a little bit. But at the same time, I know that he’s communicating every day with Tim Lewis and he’s skyping and doing things like that. As Tim has stated many times, he’s very bright, and he picks things up really well.
“It’s different when you are picking things from just talking as opposed to doing it because the bullets fly much faster out on there on the field than they do on a telephone,” Nolan said. “I’d rather have him here, but he’s not. I think he’ll catch up.”
Roll call: In addition to Trufant and Toilolo, veterans Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White did not take part in the voluntary OTA on Wednesday.
Linebackers Sean Weatherspoon (knee surgery) and Stephen Nicholas (sports hernia surgery) and rookie defensive end Stansly Maponga (ankle surgery) also did not practice because of injury.
In another roster move, Deon Goggins, a reserve fullback who played defensive tackle at Syracuse, was waived.
Banks update: Linebacker Brian Banks, who signed this offseason after being exonerated of rape charges last May, is making progress.
“Now, he’s just trying to get his body going in the right direction and know where he’s going to go,” linebackers coach Glenn Pires said. “That’s what he’s doing right now. It’s the same thing for all of our rookies.”
Banks is being closely watched by the defensive brain trust, which is looking for help at linebacker.
“He’s a mature person,” Nolan said. “He takes it very serious. It’s not just fun and games like it is for some guys at times. … It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t played in a long time because that does show at times, too.”
O-line watch: Left tackle Sam Baker, left guard Justin Blalock, center Peter Konz, right guard Garrett Reynolds and right tackle Mike Johnson formed the first-team offensive line.
Lamar Holmes, who spent all of last season at left tackle, was moved to right tackle and was running with the second unit. He’s competing for the starting spot.
“It was nice to see Lamar Holmes come out and handle his business at the right tackle position,” Smith said.
Goodman shines: Rookie defensive end Malliciah Goodman has made a positive impression.
“Malliciah Goodman is doing good,” defensive line coach Ray Hamilton said. “Young guy. Athletic guy. Big guy. Strong. He’s fairly smart. He’s picking up the system, but you know how rookies are with the system, their head is swimming. But he’s starting to settle down a little bit. It’s starting to make sense to him. He’s a very smart player. I think he has a pretty good upside.”
Peters on the move: Defensive tackle Corey Peters appeared much faster and agile than last season. After having offseason foot surgery last year, he missed the first six games of the season on the reserve/non-football injured list.
“He came back midseason and wasn’t in great shape,” Nolan said. “He played with a lot of heart and soul and gave it his all.”
The Falcons hopes that Peters can rebound and turn into an interior force.
“Corey will be the first one to tell you how disappointed he was in himself last year, mainly because he missed a whole lot of days with his injury,” Hamilton said. “He looks like himself right now and better. He’s stronger in the weight room. He’s coming back pretty good. I’m looking for a big year from him.”
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