NFL 101 for Raiders Burris and fellow rookies | News

ALAMEDA, CA - It was "like trying to drink from a fire hose," as the Oakland Raiders opened their first practice of rookie minicamp on Saturday at the team's headquarters.

That brilliant analogy courtesy of fourth-round draft pick Miles Burris, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker out of San Diego State, who graduated and played at Granite Bay High School.

"It's a dream come true, I'm just trying to make a positive impact with this opportunity that I'm given and I want to take advantage of it and make this team," Burris said.

As a linebacker, who is primarily an outside linebacker Burris said he was comfortable even playing middle linebacker, or a he said, wherever the team needs him.

After two days of observing him on the field, new Raiders head coach Dennis Allen seemed pleased with what he was seeing out of Burris.

"He's a tough, physical player," Allen said. "I've seen every indication that he's fully athletic enough to play the positions that we're going to ask him to play and we're excited about him.

"He is an instinctive football player and he understands how to play the game. So we're going to put him in positions to be successful and let him use his athleticism; let him use his instincts to make plays."

Just two weeks removed from the NFL Draft, Burris joined the three day minicamp alongside top pick and third-round guard Tony Bergstrom, fellow linebacker Nate Stupar, and defensive linemen Jack Crawford and Christo Bilukidi.

60 players occupied the practice field with the new-look Raiders coaching staff. Half of the players are NFL hopefuls who are hoping to open some eyes, turn some heads and compete for a roster slot with the team.

By Sean Cunningham, SCunningham@News10.net
Twitter: @News10Sean