Aug. 9, 2001

Waco, Texas - Baylor's first-year football players worked out for the first time Thursday, spending two hours in the morning and another hour in the afternoon getting introduced to basics of college football. The morning session was split between physical testing and practice orientation, which was continued during the afternoon practice.

"This is a very energetic group," Head Coach Kevin Steele said. "They are big and physical, and they have a lot of speed."

With only 26 players in camp, Steele and his staff has been able to spend more time than normal in individual tutelage.

"It allows you to focus and pay attention on the newcomers. When the whole team comes in, we're so busy just getting ready for the first game. So this allows us to spend a tremendous amount of individual time with each player for a couple days.

"We've introduced them to the base offense and base defense. The pace is more deliberate because your not working with the numbers you're normally working with."

The newcomers will work two more times Friday before the varsity reports Friday night. The first day of full-squad practices is slated for Monday.