At 6-feet-5, 317 pounds, Atlanta Falcons rookie center Peter Konz is sweating the heat in Flowery Branch, Ga., where the team is holding its rookie minicamp.
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"It was hot," the Neehan, Wis. native told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I come from like 40 degrees, and I was comfortable. Last night, I was sweating in my own bed."
The August heat in will likely be a major adjustment for Konz.
"Do they have like those little air conditioners in the helmets yet?" Konz asked. "I heard the humidity is horrible down here."
Konz worked at right guard for most of the practice and took a few snaps at center, and felt that in spite of the climate, "it was a good day."
"I didn't feel like I missed a beat or hesitated too much," he said.
Coach Mike Smith agreed.
"I thought Peter did a nice job," Smith said. "Of course, Peter is being cross-trained at two positions. It's obvious that he's a big strong guy."
Despite not playing regularly at guard since high school, Konz is expected to compete with several veterans for the starting right guard position.
"I actually switched off from tackle to guard whenever we had a pulling play my junior year," Konz said. "That's how I got into pulling and all of that."
Konz was projected to be chosen in the first round of the draft, but fell to the Falcons in the second round with 55th overall pick. As part of last year's trade for receiver Julio Jones, Atlanta traded away their first- and fourth-round selections in this year's draft.
"They threw the playbook at us and told us to go memorize it," Konz said. "Get in there and learn as much as you, as fast as you can."
The Falcons plan to install all of the plays in the camp, which runs through Sunday.
