Former Yale defensive end Tom McCarthy is on his way down to Atlanta tonight to embark on the start of his pro career.

McCarthy was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted rookie free agent.

"I am very excited and that is an understatement," McCarthy said. "This has been a long time coming."

The Falcons were among the teams who had McCarthy on the radar either as a late-round draft pick or as a free agent.

"I hadn't heard from them during the lockout but when I didn't get drafted, they were one of the teams I spoke to so it wasn't a huge surprise," McCarthy said.

According to his twitter account, former Yale fullback/h-back Shane Bannon flew down to Kansas City on Tuesday. Bannon was taken in the seventh round by the Chiefs. Tight end Chris Blohm has not signed been signed yet according to an e-mail I received from his agent.