A few notes from the first OTA of the season

Here are a few details from today’s OTA, the first time the 2010 Giants have all been on the field together … well, almost all of them.

Justin Tuck, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, was able to participate in the drills. Remember, they’re not wearing pads so it’s basically just getting into a three-point stance and firing off the ball. But it’s definitely a good sign that Tuck was able to do that with his repaired shoulder. I saw him tonight at the Gridiron Gala to support United Way-led initiatives in the New York area.

“It’s actually pretty good,” Tuck said of his shoulder. “It’s not 100, but it’s driving. It’s going good.”

Antrel Rolle was also at the Gala, and it was the first time I was able to speak with him face-to-face. He said he was really impressed by today’s first OTA.

“It felt great,” he said. “I felt a great team chemistry. I felt a new attitude amongst the guys. I felt something very special out on the field today and that’s quite weird for being the first OTA practice.”

He’s also excited about the defense that Perry Fewell is installing.

“He’s definitely my kind of coach,” Rolle said. “He’s definitely going to get after them. He’s an aggressive coach, which is something I like. He has a lot of trust in his veteran unit back there and he’s looking for a lot of great things from his. He has very high expectations.”

A few other tidbits from the first team practice (in a voluntary sense, of course):

Jonathan Goff started out with the first unit at middle linebacker and split reps with rookie Phillip Dillard. Chase Blackburn, who will also compete for that job, was not at the OTA because he was traveling back from Tom Coughlin’s Jay Fund outing this weekend, but he’s expected to be there when the team has OTA No. 2 on Thursday.

Gerris Wilkinson, who was preparing to spend time competing at middle linebacker, spent most of the practice working at outside linebacker.

Kenny Phillips did not participate in the workout, but he was running on the side. That left Rolle and veteran Deon Grant as the “starting” safeties.

And Tuck had nothing but good things to say about first-round pick Jason Pierre-Paul.

“He looked good,” Tuck said. “He’s a slender kid. He kind of reminds me of the build of Mathias (Kiwanuka). He’s a talent and we just have to get him more experience. That will come. Obviously he hasn’t gotten a lot of coaching yet at defensive end, but that can be a good thing because he doesn’t seem to have any bad habits yet. Now that he’s in the NFL and gets the NFL coaching, the sky is going to be the limit for him. It’s going to be up to how much he wants to work and how much he wants to move forward.”