Calvin Ridley has a hard time staying still. Even when he’s standing up in front of cameras and microphones, Ridley is constantly moving his limbs. He’ll sway some side to side, or he’ll move his arms when offering an explanation to a question.

Staying sedentary has never been an option for the Falcons’ first-round draft pick.

“I just think I have a lot of energy,” Ridley said. “I feel like I can’t sit down. I always want to go do something.”

Ridley traces that trait back to elementary school. He grew up in an apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he and his younger brother Riley Ridley, a junior receiver at Georgia, would play pick-up football on an estimated 30-yard patio in the front yard. They would play early in the day to avoid the attention of the complex’s rental office.

From there, Ridley took the practice habits he picked up as a youngster into middle and high school. And then as a top-tier receiver at Alabama, Ridley helped set the tone for his teammates, whether at practice or in the weight room.

Running back Damien Harris, a senior with the Crimson Tide, said no one outworked Ridley.

“He’s a perfectionist,” Harris said. “Everything he wanted to do, he wanted to do it perfectly. I know everyone has heard the saying, ‘Don’t do it until you’re right, do it until you can’t get it wrong.’ That’s the kind of guy Calvin was.”

If Ridley has downtime, he would rather move than relax. If that means getting some extra lifting in between team meetings, so be it.

“We’ll get out of a meeting, and I’ll go in the weight room and do some curls or something real quick,” Ridley said. “Then I’ll go back to another meeting. I just feel like I need to move. I don’t like to sit down.”

Said Alabama junior linebacker Anfernee Jennings, “If you want to see somebody work every day at practice, Calvin’s the guy to watch. Great player, great teammate, good dude. I just look forward to seeing him in the NFL.”

It didn’t take long for folks around the Falcons to see that kind of approach from the rookie.

A mere mention of his name caused receiver Mohamed Sanu to blurt out, “That boy works hard.” Julio Jones called Ridley a “hard worker, very hard worker.”

“He listens to everything; he wants to be great,” Jones said. “He’s not a guy that thinks he knows everything. First-round guys, guys can be stuck in their own ways and things like that, but he comes to work. I love his attitude, and I love his work ethic and everything about him.”

In a run-first offense at Alabama, Ridley was the deep threat defenses had to account for over the top. During his three years, Ridley had 2,781 yards and 19 touchdowns. A game-breaker at times, Ridley’s college career long catch was an 81-yard touchdown as a freshman against Arkansas. He also had a 78-yard score against Colorado State in 2017.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan picked up on Ridley’s play-making ability back in mini-camp. The veteran quarterback doesn’t think Ridley will have a hard time working into Atlanta’s offense as a rookie.

“He’s a talented player,” Ryan said. “He can do a lot of different things. Certainly, through the offseason and the first couple of days of camp, he showcased his talent level. I kind of see him having a really good year for us. He’s fitting in really well with the receiving corps that we have.”

While Ridley possesses great over-the-top speed, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said he has been impressed with Ridley’s quickness in and out of breaks. On short and underneath routes, Ridley has separated from Falcons defenders by stopping and changing direction without hesitation.

Although off to a good start, Ridley hasn’t appeared satisfied about his practice performances to date.

“He’s kind of built that way in terms of his approach to it,” Quinn said. “He’s a humble guy, but he definitely has something to prove. That’s a good place to be in as a player, where you got humility and know you can improve, but you want to send a message about your style of play. Hopefully he’s earning respect and earning some role and specialization on the offense.”

Ridley’s practice habits haven’t changed much since childhood. And having the privilege to play at Alabama allowed him to compete against plenty of future professional athletes.

As he prepares for his first NFL season, Ridley has stuck with the same plan he has had for years.

“I’m up here trying to get better,” Ridley said. “It’s not too different.”

Scrimmage day

For the fourth training camp practice, Quinn divided his team into two squads — Team Red and Team White — to scrimmage. The teams weren’t broken into first- and second-team units. But Team White had three first-team offensive linemen (Jake Matthews, Andy Levitre and Alex Mack) and another (Brandon Fusco) who is competing for the starting right guard spot. The fifth lineman was right tackle Matt Gono, who began camp as a third-stringer.

Team Red featured key defensive contributors Grady Jarrett, Terrell McClain, Vic Beasley and Brooks Reed. Every other position, however, was divided up fairly evenly.

Quinn said the teams were constructed to simulate a 42-player game-day roster.

“The goal behind the whole thing was to create a game-like stressful situations and to really evaluate the players in that environment,” Quinn said.

(Top photo of Calvin Ridley by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)