Atiyyah Ellison was an early free-agent pickup for the Ravens last season, and the defensive tackle was on the team's active roster in December before being placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Ellison was the first player to report to Ravens training camp on Sunday.
What drove you to report to training camp at 9:30 a.m. when you didn't have to be there until 4 p.m.?
My son [who will be 2 on Aug. 23] actually woke me up at 7, so I was up anyway. So I figured I may as well just come and get my stuff so I wouldn't have to worry about it.
Describe your comfort level at your first training camp in defensive coordinator Rex Ryan's system.
Being on the practice squad for most of last year, I really wasn't getting the plays like everybody else. Toward the end, I started to get it when I was moved up. They definitely look familiar, but there's always new wrinkles that the coaches put in there.
Was there anything you sought to improve on during the offseason?
CB [defensive line coach Clarence Brooks] saw me in January when I had shoulder surgery and I got a little bigger. He said, "Don't come back here looking like [defensive tackle] Haloti [Ngata]." So I was working on my weight and dropped about 15 pounds.
How did you lose the weight?
I was taking NutriSystem for some of the OTAs [organized team activities], which I don't think is recommended when you're working out because by the end of the day, I was getting dizzy.